


The Wolf in the Star

by retro_tinlizzy



Series: The Journey [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Anal Sex, Blindfolds, Blow Jobs, Bondage, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, M/M, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-01-04 18:13:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 26,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18349022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retro_tinlizzy/pseuds/retro_tinlizzy
Summary: With the time being the 1890s, no part of London is entirely safe for a couple like Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.  While the wizarding world is more accepting, the same troubles do still remain and there are those few traditions of society that they can not access.  They spend most of their social life in a club called Steuben's Hall - a queer meeting place for all kinds of folk - run by major patrons such as Oscar Wilde.Remus has many plans for their domestic life, starting with the rings he bought for their fifth anniversary to effectively seal their partnership and the rest of his plan up his sleeve.





	1. The Desk

**Author's Note:**

> Remus sighs a lot.

Remus sighed. There was a long set of stairs before him and his legs were weak from the portion of the day spent in the muggle world.

“Damn.”  
“Now what kind of language is that to be using, Mr. Lupin?”

Mrs. Thompson crept out of the shadows, followed by her house elf. Of the fashion donned on the two of them, the house elf was looking classier. Remus’s land lady was known for her extravagant fashion choices that did nothing to hide her presence in the muggle world. There was a time and a place for heavy velvet dresses on wide hoop frames - some desperate time calling for desperate measures.

"The mature kind, Mrs. Thompson. Can I help you with something?"  
"You can make sure that your flat mate, that wild man, is clothed."  
"I’ll try my best."

The long set of stairs was looking more pleasant by the moment, and Remus was soon taking his escape two by two.  
Remus loosened his tie before unlocking the apartment door, slowly running his hand through the hair that hung in front of his eyes. Zipping around the city didn’t do much good for the state of his hair style or laces of his shoes, but it was better than the muggle ways of getting around. 

The image of his partner from that morning rushed through Remus’s mind. It was a sight that he didn’t mind but he preferred the man to be decent when it was the tea time between Sirius and the land lady. Even with the time the two spent together, Remus had repeatedly learned that their landlady was rather dissatisfied with Sirius’s nudity.

“Sirius, I’m home. Please be wearing more than a washcloth this time.”

The lack of an answer became bothersome. Perhaps the partner had forgotten that they were due to go out tonight for their anniversary. It was nowhere special – just to the regular club that Wilde controlled the atmosphere of and brought out all of the special folk of London. That careful mixture of muggles and magical people who could agree on finding a common enemy among everyone with reason to despise them.

Remus carefully searched through the rooms of the flat, expecting to see Sirius in bed waiting for him. Or perhaps soaking in the tub, fast asleep and unaware of the time. These two proved fruitless and he sent his search into their office. And what a sight it was to as he walked into the office to find Sirius laying on the desk in a black robe, hands tied and blindfolded.  
The covered eyes turned to him with a staple glare and familiar voice jabbed, “Well it’s more than a washcloth, love.”  
“Indeed it is.”

Remus watched from the doorway for a moment, observing the scene laid out on his desk. Sirius squirmed in his tight position, head rising as if to listen to Remus’s movements but going too far and being pulled back down. They had done this many times before – in the office – but Remus had been more aware. And now he was left to wonder what he should be doing. Joining his partner in the event upon the desk or chiding the man for how they would be late for dinner.

“Remus? Are you there?”  
“Of course I’m here, love.”  
“Then why haven’t you joined me?”

A very good question that he did not have an answer for. Remus stood still for a moment more before walking over to the desk, looking down to where his partner was wriggling. He wondered about how comfortable the position must have been, back against the stiff plank and arms stretched at a ridiculous length. His coat slipped off easily and went onto the office chair next to their toy chest. He could see Sirius searching under the blindfold and took his time getting down to his pants and undershirt.

It was enough removed for now.

It took one more circle through the mental process before Remus was ready. And when it happened he jumped onto the desk, with tender lips quickly going to Sirius’s neck and hands untying the knot on the silk robe.

“Are you ready, love?”

The only reply Remus got was a quick gasp and Sirius moving more under his hands. Remus moved his lips further up his partner’s neck, taking in each breath, and leaving a small kiss on Sirius’s forehead. The hands one on the knot of the robe were now examining what lay below and the crinkly feel of fabric brought Remus to observation.

His eyes were brought to the attention of a pair of a silk under wear, trails of lace hanging at Sirius’s hips. In the dim light of the office, it was hard to tell the color. The light from the city shown in and now Remus gazed down at the appropriate color.

Black. He should have guessed.

Sirius moved his head up again.  
“Do you like them?”

Remus moved his lips back to his lover’s while his hands brought the silk and lace down. He came back up and leaned to Sirius’s ear to whisper, “I like everything you choose.”  
The continuation of hungry kisses created a new burst of energy in Remus’s heart. After a long day at work with the children nearly burning up his coat (again), Remus had few plans outside of dinner. And now he found himself overtop of Sirius on the desk and ready for anything.

“Do you love me, Remus?”  
“Yes, I do.”


	2. "You Are Perfect"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A beginning session of very light and loving smut.   
> Remus knows that they have important places to be but this must be done before they go.

Remus pushed Sirius’s hands back and up, having to listen to the disappointed whimpers as their lips pulled apart. The blindfold came off easily with his teeth while Remus thrust against Black with his still clothed hips. A need for the element of mystery was gone – Remus needed to see the man’s eyes.

“And I love your eyes, darling.”

With the blindfold off and eye contact maintained, Sirius was resting gentler on the desk. Remus pushed the underwear the rest of the way down, carefully slipping them off of Sirius’s beautiful legs. And leaving kisses on the skin while Remus worked his way back up to the man’s waist. Inspection revealed the object placed in his partner’s bottom, Sirius prepared with the placeholder.

“I knew we wouldn’t have much time and I thought this would help.”  
Remus leaned up to give him another kiss.  
“It helps very much. How do you want me?”  
“Quickly and finished as soon as possible. We have a dinner date to keep with our friends.”

Taking their relations quickly was never a thought to run through Remus’s mind but the watch hanging from his jacket was a gentle reminder. One of his fingers slipped into his waiting partner, who soon pushed back and moaned. With the beginning of this encouragement, Remus pushed another finger in and gazed into Sirius’s eyes. Another moan followed, Sirius’s arms reaching towards him and the sweet call of: “Remussss…please.”  
“Please what?”  
“Just please.”

Remus pushed his other hand through Sirius’s hair while listening to the soft moans. His eyes had been staring into the ceiling to concentrate on a plan of action, but he let them fall back to the desk. And let his lips follow the trail, catching Sirius in between moans and gasps. 

As he slipped another finger in, increasing the motions, his hand stayed in Sirius’s long locks while saying, “Shhh love. It’ll all get done.”  
One of Remus’s favorite things about Sirius was the man’s wild hair. Always good for having his hand in and the sometimes cloak they needed when Sirius slipped a kiss in while they were out.   
In between the moans from the form below, Remus heard, “Are you ready for the fun to come, Remus?”  
“Judging from the state that you’re in, that’s not the only thing about to come.”  
“You don’t have to be so crude.”  
“But Sirius, I thought you loved this?”

Remus let go for a moment, finding the jar of lubricant and soon replacing the empty space left by his fingers. His thrusting was met with another series of moans and the obvious rising attraction from Sirius. Time for teasing was not available, even as much as Remus wished to do so.

“Do you like this, love?”  
“How could I not love this? I’m having sex with the teacher on the teacher’s desk.”  
“Would you like it rougher?”  
Sirius turned his eyes away for a moment, most likely in consideration of the thought.   
“Rougher.”

The answer was followed by a gasp as Remus immediately listened to the command. Sirius squirmed below him, hands twisting in the ropes at the head of the desk, moaning loudly in the quiet room.

“I know you’re excited, but you have to be quiet,” Remus soothed while running his hands through the long locks once more.

Remus answered the moans by pushing in farther, resting for a moment while gathering his breath. The whine and whimper from Sirius came again, followed by the pitiful eyes that were always begging for something. All of the other elements had been released and now Remus decided to untie the man’s hands.

He put his lips back to the man’s neck while saying, “If I cut you loose, you have to hold on to my neck while we move in position.”  
“Yes.” Simple answer. Followed by a simple series of moans. 

Remus undid the ropes, gathered Sirius up and switched so that his own back was against the desk. There was a small gasp of surprise as the movement took place, arms soon locked behind Remus’s neck. More moaning of his name came with returns to the thrusts Remus had sent upwards.  
“What do we do from here, Remus? There’s twenty minutes left on the clock.”

Remus hadn't planned beyond Sirius riding him, thinking that it would have been enough to get the ball rolling. But now he was left here, laying against the desk, and thrusting up to his partner while the pieces clicked together. In the process of changing positions, Sirius's hands had gone from his neck to his shoulders, fingers now clutched against his under shirt.

“I think that you’re going to sit there in my lap, looking as beautiful as ever and enjoy a short ride in the country.”  
A smile spread across Sirius’s face as he leaned over for a kiss. In between short laughs he joked, “Don’t make it too bumpy, Mr. Lupin. You know how I get motion sickness.”

There was such a temptation to set Sirius in his place. All of the comments running through his mind about how that remark was out of place. And how they really needed to keep their voices down, considering other people in the building. The landlady might have been used to their relations but in the other flats people were moving through all of the time.  
Instead of any sort of chiding or scolding, Remus joined him in laughing. This was the man that he had fallen in love with in school and this was the man he wanted to be with forever.

“I thought you didn’t like me being crude. And now look at what you’re doing.”  
“Well that really wasn’t being crude, darling. The things that your schoolchildren say are some of the crudest statements that I’ve ever heard.”

Sirius moved from a sitting position to leaning against Remus’s chest, running a hand across his short stubble and kissing along Remus’s neck. The shift in position made it awkward for how they were engaged, tempting Remus to turn over on the desk. Turning wasn’t working and instead he moved his hips to the side, rolling them back and forth while Sirius’s moaning returned.

“Is this okay, love?”

There was no verbal answer this time. Just the sudden heat in his lap, noticeable fluid building up between them, and Sirius’s hands gripping onto his hair. Remus looked down to the floor to the pocket watch, reaching out nimble fingers and carefully opening it. They still had plenty of time to take a bath and make it to the party Remus knew was waiting.

“Remus, I think you know that everything you do is perfect.”


	3. A Crown of Bubbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Sirius spend some fluffy moments in the bath and picking out their wardrobe for the evening. This all while Remus continues to fret about everything.

Enough time to lay together on the desk, hearing Sirius’s soft snores and the regret of having to wake him up in a few minutes time. Remus continued his careful observation of the office ceiling, noting every chip of paint and hearing every click of the heel of the tenants upstairs. After three minutes, he nudged Sirius. With no returned response, he lifted his partner off and carried the man to the bathtub. A quick spell ran through the pipe to produce appropriately hot water that collided with a soap solution, creating bubbles around them.

“See, Remus? Everything you do is perfect.”  
“I hope I didn’t wake you up too suddenly.”

Remus’s legs bent out in awkward directions as he slid into the bathtub with two wash cloths, handing one to Sirius and plunging into the water with some hope for his hair. Sirius was usually the one to collectively worry about all of the hair in the relationship, but Remus would attempt to slick it back for the proper evening ahead. He eyed the jars and bottles and tubes of hair products and ill looking potions that cluttered along the edge of the bathroom. Among the collection of odd muggle and wizarding items, only two things belonged to Remus: the universal jar and the universal comb.

“Remus, can you please move your foot elsewhere?”  
“Hmm?” Remus moved his gaze from the shelves to Sirius’s waiting eyes.  
“Perhaps somewhere that is not my testicles.”  
“Oh, sorry, love.”

There was a quick readjustment with another series of mumbled apologies as Remus shifted them both into more comfortable positions. They really did need to buy a bigger tub. And as the water was slowly growing colder, Remus was realizing that they either needed to stay in for the night. Or hurry their process along. Remembering the schedule…

“You know, Sirius, we really should be getting ourselves along.”

Sirius sat up out of the bubbles, kissing Remus on the lips, and falling back into the pile with the laughter. Bubbles floated up into the air and Remus caught a cloud of them in his hair. If it was that night where they had more time for relaxation, he would have gladly made a flower crown in Sirius’s hair.

“I know I was in rush before, love. But now I’m just really in the mood to stay here and then be snuggled up in bed with you.”  
As he ran fingers through Sirius’s soaking hair, Remus could only laugh himself. There were so many things waiting for them on the other side of their front door if only he could get the lazy ass moving.  
“We can do that when we get home. I don’t feel like cooking our dinner and I’m not trusting in you to be safe with fire, you already sound half drunk.”  
“I’m drunk on you.”  
“That’s not better,” Remus paused while clearing the tub of bubbles and began rinsing off the pair of them. When the soap was all gone, it took only a moment for the water to drain with a gurgling sound down the pipes. Remus pulled down their towels from the tub side rack, wrapping one around his own neck and draping another around Sirius’s shoulder, and tying up his partner’s hair in the last one.  
“I can do that myself.”  
“While you’re drunk on me and my love? I think not, darling.”

His partner’s fit of laughter soon returned, right as Remus picked the other man up in his arms. It was just a quick walk to their bedroom where Sirius was gently laid on the bed, once again calling up familiar whines and whimpers. Remus ignored all of the sounds while looking through their closet and picking out two suits appropriate enough for the occasion. For Remus, this meant one of his nicer three-piece tweeds, the ceremonial pocket watch, and one of his better hats. And for Sirius it was a three-piece “black as his soul” suit, with a matching dramatic hat and gentleman’s stick.  
Certainly, a couple to be the talk of the town.

Remus tossed the black ensemble at his partner while asking, “How long will it take you to get ready?”  
“It all depends on whether the image of my lovely boy overwhelms me or not. You are looking very handsome in that tight suit, Remus.”

Before this point, Remus had not noticed the tightness of the suit that he had chosen for the evening. And even as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he didn’t see signs of how the suit might be inappropriate in public. Sirius was the one who was too inappropriate to take out in public. Within the magical world, people didn’t mind about lingering hands on the rear ends of pairs of partners. But as found in the muggle world, they couldn’t even take affection among the heterosexuals and “normal” folk.

“It’s not. It’s just the fact that you forgot to wash out your brain while we were bathing.”  
“Mmm Remus, you were the one who had control of the washcloth. You should have been taking care of that rather than having your toes on my genitals.”  
“That was an accident and you know, Sirius bloody Black,” as Remus stopped, he realized his hands were gripped around Sirius’s shoulders. He quickly released and pulled Sirius to him, taking their joined embrace to the bed, and once again murmuring his apologies.  
“It’s okay, Remus. It will take a lot more than that before you can hurt me, dear.”

Pulling himself away from the tangle, Remus saw the very slight scratch marks left on his partner’s shoulders. Some stretched up to the man’s neck and Remus silently thanked the heavens for how scratches would be right out of sight. The collar of Sirius’s suit would hopefully cover it up. And if that managed to fail, perhaps Sirius would have some makeup in the dress cabinet.

“What are you so worried about, Remus? That our friends might see the scratch marks on my neck and realize that you are some sort of sex maniac?”  
“Well…”  
“Don’t kid yourself, love. You don’t need to worry about them finding out some sort of thing like that.”  
“Oh?”

Sirius moved from the side embrace, pushing Remus back against the bed covers and straddling him again. It was another moment of silent prayer from Remus that his partner wouldn’t choose this moment for the orgasm that had been teased at. Of course, he wouldn’t want there to be such tension all into the evening, but couldn’t Sirius do something while they were both still naked? Remus didn’t have the quantity of suits that his lover did.

“You don’t have to worry about them finding out whether you’re a sex maniac or not because they already know about that. It’s very obvious from the way you strut with me and put your arm through mine.”  
“I. Do. Not. Strut.”

With the gap in the conversation, Remus flipped Sirius back over, avoiding the fluid steadily dripping onto their bed spread. The man underneath of him was panting, looking up to the ceiling and making eye contact with Remus the entire time. He was tempted to do so many things but sacrificed by kissing his partner’s neck. And there was so much temptation to leave marks next to the scratches from the earlier accident, but a high collar wasn’t able to cover that much.

“If you’re so concerned with the time, Remus, perhaps you should let me up.”  
“Oh, of course.”

It took just a second to back off.

“Are you ready to get dressed, Sirius? Or do we need to relieve your stresses?”  
“I’ll be good until later, love. But don’t count yourself out from me asking for your assistance in some lavatory along the way.”

Remus turned away, sighing in the way that he always tended to do when Sirius started notions about their public behavior. Within a few seconds there came a small tap on his shoulder, followed by a quick kiss against his neck and teeth nipping at Remus’s ear.

“I’m ready, Remus. Are you?”  
“Honey, I’ve been ready for all of this time. You’re the one who decided he needed to orgasm again. Was the desk scene not enough for you?”  
“It was enough – for the first round. You shouldn’t have deprived me of a second turn if you were going to tease me like that, Mr. Lupin.”  
“Oh, I was the one teasing?” 

Remus let the question hang while taking their outer wear from the rack by the door. He tied a scarf carefully around Sirius’s neck, carefully buttoning the brass buttons and tossing the cane towards the “wild man”. His own coat hung loosely, most likely from the pounds that had been falling off as their normal relations had spiked dramatically in the numbers. Most of Remus’s pupils needed his assistance during the summer and as the fall went on, the couple were finding themselves with more and more time.  
As they headed out the door, Sirius pulled him in for a final kiss and said, “I’m glad you admitted the teasing that you were doing. You are quite good at it.”


	4. Gentle Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius has a history of partying a little too hard.

Remus got out of the coach first, helping Sirius down and waiting by the door of the club for his partner to pay. Sirius held most of the money in their partnership because Sirius was the only one among the two of them to have a substantial amount of money. While Remus would otherwise live paycheck to paycheck, having to pick up more students by the week in slow times, Sirius was never without sufficient funds. If only like the others they could be married, and Remus wouldn’t have the worries of a sudden leaving.

“Remus? Are you okay?”  
The sudden presence of Sirius brought him out of the dreary notion, the quick reply falling to be a “Hmm?”  
“Are you ready to go in?”  
“Yes, quite ready.”

The aptly named Steuben’s Hall was as busy as ever on the Tuesday night that Remus had settled with. While he had first met Sirius at Hogwarts and they had begun a relationship there, it wasn’t until interactions at Steuben they truly entered a partnership. Before that night they had been nearly best friends that at times had particular benefits and happened to share the two-bedroom flat. At that point, Remus’s office was still Sirius’s lightly used bedroom. 

And once accused by one of Wilde’s toys about the nature of their relationship, Remus had taken two scraps of parchment to make their rings. 

“Remus, did you let people know of our plans to be here tonight for celebration?”  
“Why do you ask?”  
“Perhaps the banner announcing the marriage of the Hall’s favorite school teacher.”

Remus looked up to the banner over the entry way, bring in a trademark sigh and questioning why he chose here. Was it really all of his choice when the bartender had told him of certain plans and requests already made for the occasion. It wasn’t that he had planned on new rings for them, as the paper ones were kept in a box in their kitchen, but he had. The metal clicked back and forth in the pocket of his coat, the box swinging with his gait and Remus feared the possibly of the sound they might make.

“You know that a lot of the muggles who hang out in here are comedians. Everyone knows our anniversary, love, and this is their own sort of gesture of friendship.”  
“Yeah but it makes me a bit nervous to be around them now.”  
“Sirius, I love you. We’re going to have a good time with our friends,” Remus paused and leaned down to whisper in Sirius’s ear. “And then we’re going to go home, and you’ll get the second round that you wanted.”

While Remus’s head was still present on his partner’s neck, he was able to hear the soft whines that Sirius so loved to tease him with. Just the gentle reminders that they could be elsewhere at any time and being doing actions not appropriate for the public circle. Out of the two of them to potentially strut, Sirius most definitely did tonight as he stepped in front, standing slightly on his toes and placing a clear image in Remus’s head.

It would be a hard evening.

“Ah the Hall’s favorite teacher and his artist have arrived! They are waiting for you in the main room, a surprise party that I doubt is a surprise anymore.”

Remus turned to see the call coming from one of the regular bartenders, someone he would have considered if not for the presence of Sirius in his life. James Duncan had worked at the club long before an age probably appropriate and Remus had caught him on more than one occasion engaging with some of the club members. Not strictly against the rules but not particularly acting within the rules.

“Surprise party? For us?” Sirius tilted his head up to Remus to ask, “Did you know about this?”  
“They let it slip to me last week, but I assumed I could keep it a secret for you. You do tend to enjoy these sorts of things.”  
Duncan called again from his position behind the bar, “You are known for loving a good party, Black.”  
“That’s what they tell me.”

Sirius’s hand slipped into Remus’s, giving a gentle squeeze and pulling him into the next room. He could see the wary look in Sirius’s eyes the longer they maintained in the same room as Duncan and quickly followed his partner to the side corridor. They went into the lavatory, Sirius ushering him into a stall and throwing arms back around Remus’s neck. After a short kiss, Sirius pushed himself further into Remus’s arms and they stayed together until Remus felt the need to talk.

“Are you okay, love? If you don’t want to be here, we can home right now and tell them you were feeling ill.”  
“No, I want to stay…I was just a bit…uncomfortable with implications about my behavior. I’ve been here for parties at times when you were not and there’s certain things that aren’t crystal clear in my mind.”  
“Fogged by the whiskey and the tobacco smoke?”  
“Mainly.”

Remus placed a kiss on the wild man’s forehead, ruffling the curls with his fingers and slowly working kisses down his partner’s cheekbones. The intent in his mind was to be so comforting and he was hoping that Sirius would not be taking it the wrong way. It wouldn’t have been the first time they had sex in a bathroom stall. Remus just doubted his ability to have sex three times in one night after the day he had at work.

He tilted Sirius’s chin up while asking, “What else troubles you?”  
“I’m afraid that in those lost memories I might have cheated on you and I don’t want to have betrayed you like that.”  
“Even if you did, I am understanding of the circumstances. What makes you think that something happened?”  
“Just some of the things that some people have been saying lately when you were out of the room.”  
“Would one of those people be Duncan?”

Sirius turned his head back down, eyes now glued to the floor with no sign of returning to contact with Remus. He hated to see the cloud of shame that was hanging with Sirius and doubted that in whatever inebriated state might have happened, that Sirius could have ever cheated on him. Maybe it went to the point of crude flirting and perhaps people hinted at doing something more, but they were partners. And hopefully after tonight Remus would be able to give them even more of a bond.

“Yes, he is. One conversation sounded like he was nearly trying to blackmail me. But Remus, please believe me, I don’t remember something like that happening. As far as I know, I just passed out on the couch and then they called you to take me home.”  
“I know the night you’re talking of, darling, and I most definitely believe you,” Remus pulled Sirius’s chin back up as he spoke.  
“Remus?”  
“Yeah?”  
Sirius pulled him down by his collar, kissing him on the lips and saying, “I love you.”


	5. Forever is Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus finds his courage and still stumbles through the whole event.

Teasing was on Remus’s mind for only a moment before he politely answered, “I love you too. Are you okay to go back out there?”

The answer was just a slight nod and humming a few bars, leading Remus back out of the lavatory with a smile on his face. They passed a few people in the hallway who took the gesture to be an indicator of something else. On another day, Remus might have corrected them in saying that he was not in fact just having sex with Sirius Black in a bathroom stall. But it was their anniversary. And if people were so inclined to think that the pair were always locked together in some shape or form, that was up to their dirty minds.

“Remus, do you think they’re thinking about us?”  
“From the smile on your face and the hold you have on my waist, how could they not be judging us?”  
“Oh love. I don’t think they’re judging us – I just think they’re wishing they could have been doing the same thing.”

At this Remus could smile and kiss the man before him. Such an action in public would never have been possible but considering the safeness of the venue, he leaned down to kiss Sirius on the lips. He nipped slightly at his partner’s bottom lip as he pulled away, drawing blood and leaving a noticeable sign that they had been up to something.

“You did that on purpose, bastard.”  
“And you’ve been dancing in front of me, entirely on purpose.”

As if to prove Remus’s point, Sirius slightly swished his hips before continuing into the main room of the Hall. It was best described as a ball room, even if the shine had long been taken off the floor and if anyone was dancing, it wasn’t for the intended purpose. Every time that they walked through the main ballroom, Remus was gently reminded of Hogwarts and of the banners that hung in the Great Hall. Here, there hung banners and paintings by some of the greatest (known and unknown) muggle and magical artists. And like the house flags, these depicted a certain level of pride.

“You’ll have to dance at me with some other point in the evening, Remus. As the celebration banner said outside, we are here to celebrate our glorious union of matrimony.”

Sirius was laughing as he said the words. There would always be laughter about the idea of two homosexuals wanting to get married, even among the people themselves. Remus felt at the box in his coat once again, thinking about the perfect moment to make the move. He told himself to do it tonight when there was an audience and there would be no doubt that they were together.  
Forever.

“If we were allowed to get married, would you want to do so?”  
“Why so sentimental tonight, Lupin? Just because it’s our anniversary and a night of declaring our love for each other?”

The laughter quickly returned to the moments following his words as they walked farther along. People resting on couches waved to them, mostly in casual wear but Remus saw some who were dressed to the town. He wasn’t expecting them to turn out in anything particularly formal, this was just supposed to be a casual meeting among friends. And he had tried to get them to back off the party front.  
Obviously, Remus wasn’t as charming as Sirius.

“Oh yes, it’s only our anniversary. Nothing too big or important,” Remus slipped his arm around Sirius’s waist and brought them hip to hip. “It’s not like I had any big plans for the evening or anything.”  
“What kind of big plans?”

Remus moved the box around in his jacket pocket again. This might be the right moment, standing before all of these people and asking for Sirius’s eternal love. Or it might be the moment that his heart was crushed long before they made it near an altar.

A hand was on his shoulder and a sweet voice was softly asking him, “Remus? Did you hear me?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I asked what kind of big plans that you had for the evening? I know we’ve already discussed what we’re going to do when we get home and back to our bedroom. But it sounds like you had something to tell me tonight.”

Instead of getting down on one knee and proclaiming his love for Sirius before the world, Remus moved them to a free couch in a far corner. None of the other seating around the point was occupied, giving the silence and freedom that Remus was so looking for. If he had wanted true privacy, he could have done it at any point during the past month of having the rings, but he hadn’t had the courage before this point. And even as he took Sirius’s hands in his own the fear of his partner leaving him was still prevalent. 

“What do you want to tell me, love?”  
“I know we can’t entirely do this, and I might be very silly, and you can leave me if you don’t want this sort of thing and-”  
“Remus, just tell me.”

He fumbled once more in his pocket for the ring box, taking the one marked for Sirius out and asking, “Will you stay with me, forever?”

The set of rings were nothing special. Just two bands of gold with “Sirius” and “Remus” inscribed along with a small stamp mildly shaped like a paw print. It had taken a late-night session when Sirius was very drunk and unaware of the tape measure for Remus to properly figure out his ring size. And then a few months of extra extra work to pay for the set.

“Of course, I do,” Sirius paused for a moment, tightening his grip on Remus’s shaking hand. “I mean, yes. Yes, I would love to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Remus was met again with familiar lips and being pushed back into the couch, Sirius’s slender fingers gripped tight on his shoulders. And as his partner leaned further into the kiss, Remus could feel the noticeable bulge building in Sirius’s trousers and the friction he was being met with. As much as Remus would have loved to have done more, he pried Sirius from him and sat the man back into a more upright position. 

“Are you ready to put the ring on?”  
“Did you get one for yourself?”  
“Yes, I felt that was appropriate in this case.”  
“Then let’s do it together, at the same time.”

They each held a ring in their right hand after checking and double checking the inscriptions were correct. Remus noted that they would have easily been able to tell by just the band size, but Sirius kissed him once more as they reread the line. The two men managed to slide the rings on at nearly the same time, a sigh of relief released when both rings were fitting perfectly. 

Remus found himself in another embrace and another meeting with Sirius’s lips when someone tapped on his shoulder. It was followed by a cough and the person saying, “Perhaps you gentlemen would like to get a room.”

A few of their friends stood behind them, all leaning in to glance in the direction of their hands.

“So, Remus, did you finally ask?”  
Sirius was the one to talk, lifting up his hand and answered with a soft, “Yes.”

There came a round of congratulations and Remus once again faded into the party, letting Sirius represent them socially.


	6. How Do You Like Surprises?

After a long night and a few more hours into the morning, the newly christened couple returned to their flat. No matter how tempted Remus was to carry Sirius over the threshold, they both quickly realized the need to be silent. Their land lady would most likely not be appreciative of a ruckus being made at this time of night. And with the potential of laughter from both of them, and the possibility of Remus being too drunk to carry Sirius up all the steps, it was easiest to put it off for another day.

“Remus?” Sirius questioned with his name as Remus was slowly unlocking the flat door, fumbling in the darkness and the sudden realization he was using the wrong key.  
“Hmm?”  
“I know you said we would have some more fun when we got home but I’m just a bit too tired to do anything else. Is that okay with you?”

It took Remus a period of several minutes to realize what Sirius was referring to, his ears still ringing from the piano music of the hall. They kept their silence until each went to the bathroom and they both found themselves on the bed in different states of dress.

“What are you asking about, darling?”  
“I’m asking if it’s okay for us to not have a round two. If we could just lie in bed together and stare at these rings and think about what we’re going to do with our future.”

The silence returned to the room as their shirts slowly came off. As much as Remus would have liked to have simply tossed the suits to the floor and deal with them in the morning, he also knew he wouldn’t want to deal with the wrinkles. The few minutes spent laying their clothes carefully over a trunk in the corner were filled with Sirius humming some unknown tune. The more that his partner went on, the bigger the smile on Remus’s face grew and he silently affirmed that this was the right thing to do.

“I would love to do that all night with you.”  
“Well really it would only be a couple of hours, seeing as you do have to work in the morning. I wouldn’t want you falling into your tea while teaching those little-”  
“Let me just stop you there before you call my clients anything that I’m going to regret hearing in the morning.”

Remus slid into bed next to Sirius, noting that the both of them were in only their under garments. Another temptation ran across his mind for them to be wearing even less articles, but he would keep his pants on for the time being. Sirius soon rolled over to him with an arm across his chest and one falling somewhere behind his head. And then Remus met again with the lips that he loved so much.

Sirius lifted up for a moment to say, “I had a wonderful time tonight. Did you?”  
“Well it was more wonderful when I felt certain of your appendages up against my hip. Was that purposeful or did you just get a bit too excited?”  
“I’m always excited when it comes to you, Remus Lupin.”

The kisses returned, with Sirius following the same path down Remus’s neck that had been charted out so many times before. Each of them knew the others’ body so well, through these many years of partnership, that even in this dark room it moved along efficiently. Before Remus knew it, Sirius’s lips were gracing his hips and the sudden presence brought a few questions to his mind.

“Sirius, I thought we were just going to lay here for the night.”  
“Well I’m still laying, love. I’m just choosing to lay between your legs.”

The lips went further, now nipping at his thighs and Remus could almost see the laughter in Sirius’s eyes. This was the sort of thing that Remus would do to tease him – Sirius was usually far more direct in his movements. And that immediate, sudden and impulsive action soon happened, the lips taking in the entirety of his penis. Soon Remus’s favorite tongue was making its way up and down his length, no sign of Sirius’s perfectly pointy teeth. Remus’s fingers slipped into the long locks as a form of controlling the mouth that was so pleasuring him.

“You know, Sirius, if you want this dick anywhere else tonight, you might want to be more careful.”

There was a little moan from the man laying in between his legs, and clear ignorance as the sucking continued. The continued effort was more energetic than before, making it clear to Remus that this was as far as the night was intended to go. He pulled harder on Sirius’s hair as the tongue continued in its swift movements and his partner’s head was once again moving up and down. A careful scene continued for another ten minutes while Sirius took his sweet time and Remus gave tidbits of dirty encouragement.

At last, Remus felt the need to ask, “Are you ready for the flood?”

The phrase was a flashback to their days in school with quick moments of oral sex completed in storage cupboards and closets. Sirius had initially made fun of Remus for the biblical wording, protesting that what they were doing was nothing he wanted to associate with a church service. But as other pieces of slang had failed them, the couple developed more and more phrases for their private practices.  
The only answer to come tonight was a muffled moan, quickly silenced by the ‘dam’ that was released. Their position was maintained for a minute before, ending in Sirius slowly crawling up Remus’s hairy chest to kiss him. They fell back into the movements of before and stayed locked together for five minutes before Remus forced them to come up for air.

“I never got a chance to thank you for that, love.”  
“Did you enjoy?”  
Remus took the free moment to grab another kiss before continuing, “Yes, very much so.”

For just a single moment, Remus considering pulling his shorts back up, but turned his fingers’ attention to Sirius’s still clothed status. He was now left to the consideration of repaying his partner but running the risk of falling asleep with his mouth wrapped around Sirius’s dick. The man would have to deal with just Remus sucking along his lover’s chest, and get his repayment when Remus sat him down on the desk in the morning. That was something they hadn’t done for a while – sex before work.

“Remus, I know you’re thinking of what you want to do to me, but I really am ready to lay together now. And not in the way the bible makes those words mean,” Sirius stopped in the middle of his thought to laugh into Remus’s shoulder. “You can screw me all you want tomorrow morning when I’m making your breakfast.”  
“My breakfast plans have already been laid out.”  
“Mmm? What do you plan on having?”  
The thought clicked around in Remus’s head for a few seconds before he let the dirty thing escape.  
“Well, darling, I was planning on having you.”


	7. Happiness in the Darkness

It was too dark to tell in their room, but Remus was sure that even the great Sirius Black was blushing at this statement. Remus wasn’t the one to make these sorts of remarks – usually. Sirius was the one among them to be outright with his flirtatious words, explaining in graphic detail the things he wanted to do. Mostly these flirtations would come when Remus was dealing with grading papers and developing lesson plans. And they would end by Remus clearing off his desk, taking off his shirt and slowly giving into Sirius’s begging.

A hand slowly running through his hair brought Remus back to the present, along with the teeth that managed to find their way to his ear. Sirius had moved up in the bed, curling his torso around Remus’s head and shoulders, and bent in a position Remus was previously unaware of. As he looked up to view the laying Sirius, leaning back further than his neck liked and twisting around some in the process, Remus noted the need for this position in sex. He knew that Sirius was fairly flexible, but the very sight of the man gave him so many ideas.  
Sirius always made Remus feel creative.

“What are you think of, love? Perhaps all of the different ways that we can have sex on your work desk.”  
“Perhaps. How was sex with the teacher on the teacher’s desk?”

Sirius was creeping back down, and Remus noticed the lack of pants upon his person. The temptation to grab the wild man by the waist and go down on him in the bed was high on Remus’s mind. But instead he laid quietly while Sirius purred out certain statements.

“I would have preferred if the teacher had been rougher. And maybe more teasing.”

All of the suggestions that came from Sirius’s direction included the need for Remus to be rougher and to tease more. Teasing more had better chances of working out, sometimes leading to their extreme pleasure and sometimes leading to Sirius being entirely pissed off for the period of a week. Mainly their pleasure. But when it came to Remus being rougher, the pair had caused enough issues that they needed the help lending by some of their medical professional friends. Enough times where it had gotten rough enough for Sirius to ask for him to stop, but still plenty of other times when he wouldn’t admit paining.

“Sirius, you always tell me to do that. Do you have any further commentary on my actions, maybe more ways that you would like to be tied up?”  
“Maybe not how you tie me up, but we need a greater variety in the walls that you fuck me against. You know I like it in public.”  
“Yes, because you’re an arrogant arse who wants the whole world that he’s also a werewolf’s daily whore.”  
“Considering the timeline of interactions, wouldn’t it be better to say ‘a werewolf’s bi-daily whore’?”

At this, Remus couldn’t help but laughing at the phrase “bi-daily whore”. Sirius was correct in the statement, they did most often engage in different types of sexual intercourse multiple times within the same day. It was something that Remus made sure he could always fit into his schedule, and if he failed to pleasure his partner during the work days, there was always time to make it up. 

Sirius glared at him through the first half minute of laughter but soon joined into the fit that had attacked Remus. They kept up their laughter until running out of breath, ending in falling together. Sirius pushed himself against the curve of Remus, his slightly bony back rubbing against Remus’s stomach and all of their feet twisted together at the bottom of the bed. Remus brought his arms around the wild man’s waist, deciding that he loved Mrs. Thompson’s remark about Sirius. It was an accurate descriptor and he already found himself using it to chide the partner.

“A werewolf’s bi-daily whore.” Remus repeated the phrase out loud while tightening his grip around Sirius’s stomach.  
“Yes, I think it’s the perfect explanation of me.”  
“Is there anything else on your mind tonight, love?”  
“Well I quite like the idea of living in a cottage by the sea and spending the rest of my life with you.”

A few thoughts ran through Remus’s mind as he tried to determine the meaning of Sirius’s statement. Cottage rang out with a potential double meaning but when he leaned over to see his partner’s expression, it was purely innocent. A happily ever after with Sirius was something hot on his mind as well, especially after their exchange of rings tonight. Up until the moment that Sirius finally said yes, Remus had been sure that he would be left by himself and that all of the “I love yous” before that point had been fictitious.

“And what do you think we would furnish this cottage with?”  
“Why would you ask me something like that?”  
“Because as much as I trust your artistic sense, I don’t want us ending up with black curtains that are covered in some godly amount of lace. The only place I want to see lace is hanging from your hips while you’re straddled over top of me.”

Remus didn’t hear any response from his partner for a long period of time, bring back the panic that he had gone too far with his explicit statements. Remus tended to either be a very silent flirter, choosing hands in places with light pinches or quick rubs. Or he would be the man who, only in private of course, would make suggestions to his partner about how exactly a nightly session would go.   
Surely nothing would surprise Sirius at this point.

The thought didn’t do much to get rid of fears until he heard the sound of Sirius’s light snores, and the further proof that his partner was fast asleep. Remus was put out by the rudeness of Sirius falling asleep in their interior decorating innuendo conversation, but as he cuddled more against the warm form, his eyelids grew increasingly heavy. No matter how long he tried to stay awake, surveying the scene that was their bedroom, the eyes drooped more, and he soon saw the darkness.

Sirius was there in his dreams. 

Sirius was always there in his dreams but in this one, the pair were surprisingly clothed and in a public venue. A place where they were surrounded by their private friends and dressed to the town in long tails. And the words became clearer to Remus’s mind – vows being made.  
 


	8. The Morning After

When Remus woke up the next morning, the pair were still in the disheveled state of the night before.  It was remarkably peaceful for their night movements, Sirius being in nearly the same place as Remus remembered.  No hands had drifted to their nether regions in the time asleep or whatever excuse they had agreed upon for this week.  And Remus found that his head was still resting on Sirius’s shoulder, gently locked in this position.  It wasn’t until five minutes later that he finally grew tired of the snoring and crept out of their bed.

The ring was still on his hand.

Remus quickly realized that even as they had taken off all of their clothing and the few necklaces either wore during the preparations last night, they hadn’t taken off the gold bands.

_“You could have lost the ring in the sheets, you idiot.”_

The thought quickly ran through his mind, but Remus was soon distracted by the romantic quality.  He had maintained the bond with Sirius through the night.  They could potentially wear their rings in public without fear.

He heated up the water in the bath once again, pouring in a slight amount of the soap solution and focusing on actually being cleansed.  This was the bath that he had needed the night before but was too distracted by his partner’s cuteness.  Sirius surrounded by bubbles was a thought that would not clear from his mind anytime soon.

It was almost laughter as Remus combed out his wet hair in the tub.  Mainly sighing at the way, it got messed up during the night and quite obvious that Sirius’s saliva was the source of the knots.  Their presence from Sirius drooling was still better than the many times Remus had dealt with the mess of ejaculate in their hair.  Usually it was Sirius’s fault from when they were sitting together (kissing), Sirius slightly raised in his lap and then getting very excited towards the end.

_“Though there’s nothing really wrong with making your partner be excited, Remus.”_

A quick glance at the silver pocket watch informed Remus that he needed to be in more of a hurry.  He slowly stood up, drawing some of the water through the air to rinse off in, and then rather gracefully shaking it off.  One of the movements that Sirius preferred to be watching, waiting, and not touching for.

Remus realized in an instant that his towel was not hanging on the rack and slowly tried to remember where the towels were left the night before.  If they were all tangled up in the bed or lying on a pile in the floor, last night’s towels would be of no use to him now.  After a few minutes of struggling in the bathroom closet, he found a rather disturbing shade of purple, recognizable as the towels James gave him at graduation. 

The terrible towel barely held around his waist, slipping off at angles that his partner would most certainly enjoy.  Almost enough temptation to lean down on the bed to kiss Sirius and bring the man back to the world of the living.  But they had had a long night and before that Sirius must have had an excruciating day.  Remus had heard certain details discussed at the party and learned of a miscommunication in the time he was supposed to be home.  Sirius had laid on the desk for eight hours more than necessary, and it slowly occurred to Remus that must have been the reason for his squirming.

“Remus?”

A head of curls rose from somewhere under the blankets and sheets, letting out a yawn and then directing attention to Remus.  He could just barely see Sirius from the angle in the wardrobe mirror while his weekend work trousers slowly slipped on.  If Remus had any other choice, he wouldn’t have been leaving his lover unsatisfied in bed with a morning want.  But there was an appointment to keep and the appointment was a chance at more money for their household.  Granted more time apart from each other, but still more money.

“Yes, love?”  
“Where are you going?  I thought you didn’t have any students to tutor today?”

Remus leaned over the edge of the bed to kiss his partner, careful not to accidentally dip his hands into any of their mess.  As he avoided it, Remus noted that the pool was significantly larger than he remembered and laughed into his kiss with Sirius.  Luckily Sirius was good about doing the sheets and cleaning other covered areas.  If he didn’t (like so many of the submissive but stubborn partners from the Hall), Remus would have had to put more work into making sure things got done.

“I have a couple of meetings today with prospective families whose children couldn’t give a rat’s ass about passing the OWLS.  And then into muggle London for some children who still can’t give a rat’s ass about their yearly exams.”

Sirius pulled himself up by Remus’s shoulders, continuing the kiss broken by the short rant.  Remus felt the slender legs grip around his waist, hating the whimpers and whines from Sirius’s lips when he pulled the pair apart.  Why did Remus always have to be the one to break up their slow moments of enjoyment?

“Oh, so you would prefer spend your day bouncing around the city and listening to people complain about their children?  Or worse the parents who insist that it isn’t their fault that their precious offspring are flunking their classes?”  
“I would love to spend all day here with you but honey, we need to keep food on the table.”  
“Is my money not good enough for you?”

A few thoughts ran through Remus’s head about the money his partner was talking of.  All of the possible questions that Remus could have asked the waiting, sprawling Sirius would be far ruder than he meant.  He didn’t want to hurt Sirius.  That was the prime directive for the one question Remus had the time to ask.  There were quite often times when Remus didn’t trust the places that Sirius got money from, thinking that the artwork sold might be a front for something else.  And he didn’t like taking money from the monthly stipend the Black family gave to Sirius – out of pride. 

_“Sirius still hasn’t told them that you two are more than roommates.  Do you think he ever will?”_

And so, Remus avoided asking a question at all, settling to say, “Your money is plenty good, love.  I just want to be able to do more for you.”

Remus gave one more kiss to the man on the bed, gently running a hand through his curls and then finishing his suit for the day.  The tie was too tight around his neck, but it gave the level of class that Remus would need to make it through the day.  And maybe these pants, the one Sirius had so commented on the night before, were a bit too tight.  But again, Remus had seen the looks he gained from the parents of either side and if silent flirtation is what he needed to gain clients, it would be done.

Remus could feel Sirius’s eyes on his rear while walking towards the door, deciding to turn back his head and say, “Don’t touch yourself while I’m away, love.”  
“Remus Lupin, you cannot walk out of here in those pants with swaying hips and expect me not to do anything while you’re gone.”  
“I don’t expect you to be doing nothing while I’m gone.  The sheets need washed, multiple surfaces need scrubbed, and there’s a fair amount of mess on the laundry where you asked me if you could ‘come’.  I believe that’s the phrase you like to use.”

This brought silence and a quick walk to the door where Remus picked up his coat, hat, and coin purse.  A slow, lumbering Sirius came from the bedroom, quite naked and yawning the entire way.

“You know exactly what I meant, you bastard.”  
“If you clean the flat while I’m away today, then we will be able to enjoy the fun we have tonight.”

One of Remus’s hands moved down to Sirius’s ass, gathering a bit of the skin up and he continued with a touch of laughter in his voice.

“I’m sure that you’ll do the chores because you don’t want to be punished, do you?”

Sirius didn’t speak, just whimpered as Remus’s palm was brought flat against the tender skin in a single motion.

“Just a reminder of what will happen if this flat isn’t in good shape by the time I get back.  Do you understand what I mean, love?”  
“Yes.  Is there anything else that you want done?”  
“However much you want to clean depends on however long you want to be screwed into our mattress.”

A gentle kiss was left on Remus’s lips, with the tongue slowly going farther and Sirius’s arms slinking around his waist.  Remus knew exactly what his partner was trying to do but glancing once more at the open pocket watch in his hand, there was no time.  It would surely leave Sirius so disappointed and desperate, but busy with the assigned duties around the house.  Once more, Remus was left to forcefully separate their embrace, proved harder by Sirius’s teeth on his bottom lip.

Just so many temptations but work was still awaiting.

“I guess I will just clean everything in the flat that we’ve been neglecting since the last time.”  
“Remind me, Sirius, when was the last time?”  
“A few months ago.”  
“Mmm.  Then it’s good that I’m going to have the next two nights off, isn’t it?”

No response this time.  Just another quick kiss and the lingering presence of Sirius’s fingers.

“Now I know that you got the time wrong yesterday so today I will back at sharply 2:45. Do you think you can manage to have everything done by then, love?”  
“With the motivation you have waiting for me?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Most definitely, Mister Lupin.”

The door clicked behind him and Remus was gone for the day.


	9. Time to Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick change over to Sirius's point of view to see where it goes.

Sirius stood in the corridor by their front door for five minutes after Remus, hoping just slightly in his heart that his partner might return.  Remus was the dominant one in their relationship.  They both accepted that through the ways they interacted in daily life and the positions used in sex.  Less than twelve hours before, Sirius had even addressed himself as a whore that belonged to Remus.  But the feeling of standing here and being pushed into cleaning the flat for fear of punishment…

Remus just wasn’t this way – anymore.

It didn’t matter how Sirius felt about cleaning the flat.  It was something that needed done but after so many late nights and early mornings spent together, neither one of them had found the strength.  He didn’t mind cleaning as much as Remus thought.  Sirius just wasn’t going to give his partner the satisfaction of knowing that he rather enjoyed cleaning, and that he wasn’t an absolute disaster at this one thing.  If that detail were to be let free, no telling what other domestic things Remus might start laying into the schedule.

_“Sirius, you’re already a housewife.  Don’t kid yourself.  The ring on your finger is already making the point.”_

The ring held just right around his finger, not too tight nor too loose, just perfectly fitting to him.  Comments from the guests at the party last night all happened to run in the vein of “Good job finding your courage, Remus” and “It took you long enough, Remus”.  Was Sirius honestly the only one not to spot his partner’s plans?  He should have gotten more of a hint when they were in the hallway, when Remus was questioning him about their ability to marry.  But until the ring was sitting in his palm, Sirius barely had an idea of what was going on.

_“You know you’re not the smart one to them, Black.  You already made a reputation for yourself.”_

Sirius was, admittedly, far smarter than he let people think and far more devoted than he let people think.  At Hogwarts, he had often tossed away chances at academic success for the sake of the reputation he insisted on keeping.  Sirius Black had been nothing but a young troublemaker in the eyes of the academic staff, and he was nothing but a troublemaker in his current life.  He was twenty-two years old with no plans for what he would do outside of being an ‘artist’.  How could someone like Remus Lupin really devote eternity to him?

He was pulled from his moment of doubt by the noticeable knocking at the door, causing the realization that he was still naked.  Sirius pulled one of his stray robes from a pile on their lounge chair and walked over to the door quietly, not making the slightest movement while waiting for more information.

“Sirius are you in there?”

The voice made his heart pick up for a moment, thinking that maybe it was Remus coming back for love in some way.  But as the voice registered and clicked around in his brain…just James.  On any other day, Sirius would have been overjoyed to see James Potter.  This just wasn’t any other day.

“Sirius, I’m sure you’re on the other side.  Please open the door.  Your landlady’s house elf is out here giving me the eye again and I don’t want to get blood on her flooring.”

Sirius carefully undid the locks on the door, letting it swing open and guiding James inside their flat.  His visits had stopped being as frequent with the onslaught of trouble from the child.  _“Sirius, I don’t have the time to watch after two troublesome children at the moment.”_

“So, James, what can I do for you?  If you’re looking for Remus, I’m afraid that he’s out at the moment, attending to some business somewhere.”  
“You know bloody well that I came to see you.  Lily heard through multiple people this morning and a fateful owl that Remus finally gave you a ring.”

There again was the reminder of Sirius being the odd man out.  Perhaps for people who really had the ability to get married, the surprise meant more.  He closed his arms tighter around the silk robe and asked, “You knew too?”  
“Hmm?”  
“About Remus’s intent to put the ring on my finger, so to speak.”

James didn’t respond immediately.  He stepped further into the apartment, sinking down into one of the chairs and audibly sighing into the room.  The kind of cue that noted the speech he was about to give on love, or quidditch, or the terrible affairs at the Ministry.  Hopefully anything but his discussions on love which were so painstakingly heterosexual in origin.  After the awkward eye contact was made for several moments, Sirius settled into a chair across from him, carefully tucking the robe into place.

“Were you not aware of his plans to make a more meaningful bond?”  
“No, I was not aware of what evidently the entire city of London knew!” 

Sirius heard his voice rising as he finished out the statement, but this was a time to be justified in anger.  It is one matter when the drunken members of your club make jabs at your naivety.  It was an entirely different matter to Sirius when his best friend was soon to make the same point.  That he should have been able to tell from the change in Remus’s behavior because everyone else managed to obviously see it.

“Sirius, you’re going to think I’m a hypocrite, but calm down.  You were just clouded by-”   
“Clouded by what?  Clouded by love or by my own stupidity or just not knowing that my partner was so madly in love with me.”

It burned in Sirius’s mouth to say the line, leaving him sick and glad that he was leaning against the chair.  James continued sitting across from him, staying silent for over a minute and running his fingers through already tousled hair.  It was the version of James that Sirius no longer knew in image but the friendly reminder of the boy he met at Hogwarts as the answer began.

“You were clouded by inexperience.  How many people have you been with?”  James paused to get an answer from him, but Sirius turned his head away, pretending to count.  “I personally know that you have slept with a lot of people beyond Remus.  So, I will alternatively ask you this, how many people have you loved?”  
“Only Remus.”  
“Right, only Remus.  Meaning that though you have more experience than him in bed, you are both equally terrible when it comes to romancing each other.  Remus just happened to take more of leap than you did.”


	10. Time to Study

Sirius quickly clicked over the previous interactions in his life that couldn’t even be called relationships.  If he had anything that lasted more than one night, it was shortly ruined by one or the other’s partners’ self-confidence.  And the unrequited love he held for Remus for the first six years of school certainly did not help his mind set.  Sirius Black wanted a relationship with Remus Lupin, and it had been so frustrating as the one thing he could not have.

“Do you think he was giving any hints along the way about proposing?”  
“You know how the event happened with Lily and I, the farthest I had planned was buying a ring.  Remus was obviously his careful and particular self, the man who had his notes and reading done so far in advance that he wanted to take his final exams the first week.”

James was making the ridiculous point to make Sirius laugh at the mistake.  Sirius should have known from the talks they had about marriage in school that Remus was the kind of man to want that.  But then Sirius was still clouded by a two-dimensional way of looking at Remus’s statement.  When Remus has said he wanted to have a family, Sirius assumed (like everyone else) that the man had meant a wife and children and a nice little house. 

What they had now was just as much of a family as the idea set up by people with closed in minds.  Sirius and Remus were happy.  They had friends who were close enough to be their brothers and sisters, and they were people who treated the couple right.  Maybe they didn’t have children of their own, but they had one god child so far, likely to be more by the time the year was over.  It was a different type of family than the kind they had come from, but it was a family just the same.

“I know I might sound mad, James, but do you consider Remus and I to be your family?”  
“Of course you are family, Sirius.  You’ve been my brother for years and you’re my child’s godfather, and Lily and I love you.  Isn’t that enough proof to be family?”  
“I didn’t realize that the bond was strong enough to be called ‘love’, is all.”  
“Well it’s there and it’s not leaving anytime soon.”

Soon Sirius’s heart was warming by the thought of his family being better established.  His family.  The term rolled around in his mouth for a few times before Sirius felt comfortable establishing it into his brain.  “Family” had never been a good thing for him, but it was slowly becoming the best part of his life.  Sirius still got money from his biological parents, the money that Remus hated so much, but the contact didn’t go beyond that.  And now it didn’t even have to go that far.

“Oh, I nearly forgot.”

Sirius was quickly reminded of James’s presence and it brought him out of the conflict in his head.

“What did you forget?”  
“Lily wanted me to give you this guide of notes for newlyweds that she thought would be helpful,” James said this with his head half buried in the bag and soon brought out to black folder.  It was slightly bent at the edge, with a piece of parchment pinned on and Lily’s soft script.  Sirius turned his head to read the writing on the outside that said, “A Textbook for Your Advanced Relationship”.

“Are you sure Lily didn’t mean this for Remus, seeing how it’s a textbook?”  
“She thought you would respond better to the format and how you need to take careful notes with it.”

James passed it over the center table and Sirius carefully sat it down across his ever-sinking robe.  If he didn’t get the chance to pull it up soon and tighten the rope, James would be getting a glimpse of something entirely not his business.  If Sirius had wanted James to see him naked, Sirius would have responded to Potter’s flirtations during their fifth year. 

After a quick examination of the folder bound together with pieces of ribbon, Sirius spotted a lighter portion of script beneath the initial title.  It was a simple warning from Lily that any person beyond Sirius who went glancing through the book would find themselves in a great deal of pain.  He wondered carefully how she meant to go about this but also what she thought was so important to tell him.  Soon Sirius sighed at the thick folder sitting in his lap, holding back the temptation to start reading it immediately. 

“And she wants your sort of book report when we have dinner this Saturday night.  I know you two usually go out to your club on that night but if you want to be more involved in the family, Saturday dinner is a good place to start.”  
Sirius looked him up and down a few times while thinking of answer, settling to ask, “Is there anything that you’d like us to bring to the occasion?”  
“Well I know you can’t cook and I know Moony is going to be far too tired to do anything, so find a nice loaf of bread and a bottle of something colored,” James paused to gather his few items up off the couch and soon fled to the door.  Sirius followed carefully behind, being utterly surprised when James turned around and pulled him into a close hug.  The embrace lasted for a minute and then James was carefully stepping away, smoothing his suit and putting on his pieces of outerwear.

“I have to get back to work soon but I wanted to stop by and see you on my lunch break.”  
“Lunch break?  What time is it, James?”  
“Uh,” he paused to turn his watch over.  “It’s only eleven, don’t worry.  What time does Remus get home?”  
“Just before three.  I need to finish cleaning before he gets home though.”

James nodded while stepping out the door, turning back once to say, “Saturday night.  Arrive at 5 o’clock on the dot.  Got that?”  
“I’ve got it.”

Sirius turned back to the apartment, writing the event down on their calendar block and starting the cleaning he meant to do hours before.  When Remus left it had been just after eight and he had spent the last three hours doing nothing but questioning their relationship.

It was time to do the work.


	11. A Long Day

Against his will, and at the urging of the last client interview of the day, Remus was taken home in a coach.  While the thought was nice, and it showed their commitment to making sure the tutor got home safe, Remus did prefer to bounce around the city at his own pace.  The Rouson family had turned out not to be the usual characters that he dealt with as serving as an on-contract tutor.  They planned on teaching their children a particular type of magic from their home country (he politely did not ask where that was), but still wished for their children to learn the standard of Western Europe.  And for this they would like someone who was not the standard example of a schoolteacher – someone like Remus.

As the carriage ran over a bump in the road, Remus let a “Shit!” slip out of his lips, the wooden seat running up into his ass.  This gave him a slight bit of understanding how it must have felt for all of the times that Remus’s hand or paddle ran across Sirius’s ass.  He ran a hand through his hair at the thought of seeing his partner on the bed, making the moment the carriage landed outside their flat not a moment too soon. 

The carriage driver handed him down another folder from the Rouson family.  Remus carefully tucked it under his arm, making it carefully up the steps to their apartment and hoping that the landlady had left the door open.  A house elf was there, as always, but it wasn’t the usual one following around the velvet monstrosity that always haunted their halls.  The climb up to the third floor was more painful than Remus had remembered from the descent that morning. 

Another series of fumbling through his pockets led him to ask through the door, “Sirius?  Would you unlock the door please, love?”

A careful set of footsteps came from the other side of the door and the series of locks clicked open.  The door swung back to its usual spot, banging slightly against the wall and denting the spot that Remus most definitely needed to fix.  Their apartment was in a much better state than when he left it.  Remus turned to the waiting Sirius, picking him up quickly and holding the man as tight as he could.

“So, were you busy while I was away, love?”  
“Are the lamps not sparkling enough for you, Remus?  I tried the best I could because I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

It took Remus a moment to remember the conversation from this morning, slowly remembering how threatening he had been as he fled out the door.  He had been in a hurry and wanted Sirius did get something done, but the moment was so terribly burning.

“Yes, love, it’s perfect.  I’m sorry if I was a bit mean to you this morning,” Remus paused to run his hand through Sirius’s tangled hair.  “I didn’t mean to pressure you or frighten you any.”  
“Could you maybe be more careful about that?  I like playful punishment, but I was afraid you would lay me open and then bury me beneath the building.”  
“I would never hurt you like that but I’m looking forward to being rough tonight, if that’s okay?”

The lips that were slowly meeting with Remus’s and the teeth biting at his lip was a clear answer for Sirius’s state.  They made their way to the living room, Remus falling over one of the lounge chairs and landing on some pile of papers.  He paused in their actions, keeping a hand on Sirius’s ass while standing back up and asking, “Oh, what’s this?”

Sirius ran around, snatching the folder from his hands and placing it on the coffee table.  Over his partner’s shoulder, Remus could make out Lily’s handwriting and noted how the pillows on the other chair were moved around. 

“Did James make a visit to you today?”  
“Hmm?”  Sirius looked at him with a puzzling sort of smirk, and then must have remembered something about the file.  “Oh yes, he did drop by while you were out.  Lily wrote up this little guide to newlywed relations for me and as you see, she will be very angry if you dare touch it.  James had the look of a frightful death in his eye as he handed the damn thing over to me.”

Remus sunk down into the chair they had just moved the papers off of, not even doubting the violence Lily could cause in his life.  It took a minute for Sirius to do some more shuffling before his partner sunk down into his lap.  They both sighed at the same time, and Remus was sure that after all of the work done to the flat, Sirius was just as tired as he was.

“So, what did James have to say while he was here?”

There wasn’t a real answer this time either, just Sirius sinking farther into Remus’s lap and keeping the sighing up the entire time.  It was nice to be here in the apartment and slowly leaning down to kiss his surprisingly gentle partner.  And sliding his arm beneath his lover’s waist created the traction Remus needed to shift them around to a more comfortable position.  His lips slowly made their way down Sirius’s neck, the wild man wriggling and moaning the entire time.

As two legs wrapped around his waist, the voice beneath Remus said, “James wanted to congratulate us on our engagement and now that we are a part of the family, we need to attend dinner on Saturday.”  
“But if I’m going out to dinner with them on Saturday, I might not have room to have you for dessert.”

Sirius squirmed more underneath of him, Remus slowly making his way down his partner’s stomach.  When he reached Sirius’s trousers, it took a second to undo the button, but Remus slowly felt himself slipping off of the chair.  It took a moment of grappling for his attempts to fail and for Remus’s ribs to collide with the poorly shielded floor.  He could hear the panting from his lover in the chair, enough motivation to bring him off the floor and back to leaning over the chair.

“Remus, we can go to bed if you would prefer.  I know that this is getting rather uncomfortable for you and your legs must be aching.”  
“Oh they are but it won’t hurt me much more to repay you for what you did this morning.”

He got a few more cries of protest from Sirius which quickly turned to moans as Remus’s mouth slipped around the partner’s waiting penis.  Sirius hadn’t teased Remus as much as he planned on doing to the receiving partner tonight, hoping that Sirius had been too busy during the day for anything else.  If he had been cleaning, perhaps the man hadn’t been tempted to rub against something and build attraction.  And he soon followed in Sirius’s methods of running a tongue down to the base, and around the “hanging fruits” as Sirius liked to say.

“Oh!  Remus, I should give you the same warning that you gave me.”

Remus pulled up from his position for a moment, leaning further over the chair and bending down to kiss Sirius.  Their lips melted together (a phrase he didn’t care for either) and he didn’t want to move from this comfortable place.  His hand ran back down to Sirius’s waist to take the spot of his mouth.  Sirius’s back arched up with legs wrapping back around Remus’s waist and pulled off to nip at his lip.  Remus felt the blood rushing into his mouth from the force of Sirius biting down.

“And your punishment was to make me bleed?  Don’t you think that’s a little bit naughty, Sirius?”  
“Yes, but I think you’re enjoying every part of this.”

In his hand, Remus could feel Sirius’s equal excitement and the warmth building.  It took another series of kisses up and down Sirius’s neck, along with the continued motion before ejaculate was spilling on to the lounge chair.  At the moment, Remus was glad they had decided on this chair, the leather one free of throw pillows as Sirius was further leaking out. 


	12. Chapter 12

Remus bent down once more to whisper into Sirius’s ear, “How was that, my sweet little darling?”  
“Little?”  Sirius jumped up while asked the question.  “How dare you call me little?  You want to insult your husband in that manner?”

Husband.

Remus hadn’t expected Sirius to use the word “husband”, even though they had exchanged the rings.  Even though they had talked about how much they wished to be married and if it was possible, it would happen.  The further portions of the exchange at the Hall had led to the conclusion that Sirius would wear a dress.  But what mattered in this moment when Sirius was so insulted was the use of “husband”, making Remus so happy.

“Husband?”  Remus rolled it off his tongue once more, this time as an audible question.  Sirius’s arms were soon around his waist and his partner’s head was leaning against Remus’s back.  The warmth was welcome, but Remus still didn’t the answer he was looking for, even if he hadn’t asked that much of a question.  All he wanted was a little bit of an affirmative.  
“Yes, husband.  I thought it would be more appropriate to start calling each other that, at least within the confines of private,” he paused to reach around to Remus’s shirt buttons, slowly opening each one.  “Though I’d love to use them outside of our little flat too, but that depends on how comfortable you are.”  
“I would love to have that, Sirius.”

Sirius turned him around to continue the embrace, starting to push Remus on to the chair and noticing the mess that remained.

“Oh, I guess perhaps I should clean that up before we continue.”  
“Mmm, I guess you should,” Remus nearly hummed into Sirius’s neck as he slowly let his partner go.  No, his husband.  He needed to get used to saying that, in his words and in his mind, while still holding a gentle place for ‘his lover’.

Sirius struggled to let go as well, eventually sighing and going to the cleaning supplies cupboard.  He returned with a damp, slightly soapy rag and a few dry ones.  Remus assumed that one of the dry rags was going to be for a use other than cleaning the mess off of the leather.  And as much as he disliked not having Sirius in his arms, Remus couldn’t help admitting that he loved seeing the man bent over like that.  The lounge pants that Sirius had on today were rather tight around his ass, leaving Remus with a bit of temptation.

“You know, Sirius, if you want me to take you seriously doing the cleaning, you shouldn’t be wearing such tight pants.”

He didn’t get much of an answer to this either, just Sirius’s glaring eyes before the man bent back over the chair.  Remus didn’t know what all of the fussing was about with the cleaning.  Especially seeing as it was Sirius who ‘came’ on the lounge chair, but would it have happened if Remus hadn’t of intervened?  Plenty of questions to keep him occupied while Sirius was humming behind him to some unknown tune.  He recognized it from regularly playing in the Hall, but he couldn’t place the name.

“Perhaps I didn’t expect my husband to be such a perverted man while watching his spouse clean up a mess made on the chair.”  
“That mess wasn’t my fault, it was most definitely yours,” Remus paused while sliding down into the newly cleaned off chair.  “Did you happen to take care of the sheets while I was away, love?”  
“I did.  And I guess that you’re going to want to mess those up once again, aren’t you?”

Remus pulled Sirius into his lap once again, whispering into his ear again, “Yes but I’m rather hungry now that I’ve been deprived.  Do you prefer to feed the chair over feeding me?”  
“If you hold me down in your lap then I won’t be able to go and fix your tea,” he stopped to kiss Remus, pulling out of the tight grasp.  “I’ll go and make you something, like the good housewife that I am.  The first day of marriage and you’ve already set me about cleaning, doing the laundry and making your supper.  If I didn’t know better, Remus Lupin, I’d say you had ulterior motives for marrying me.”

Even with the temptation to follow _his husband_ into the kitchen and try to stir up more trouble there, Remus really was hungry for an actual bit of food.  At the Rouson house, they had tried to provide him with some form of sustenance, but he had only taken a few morsels of bread and cheese.  They had more than enough food in the house, but Remus was carefully walking on the eggshells of the business.  Yes, he had to accept some to be polite.  But taking too much food from the offered plate would have been rather impolite.

“Perhaps I did have ulterior motives beyond the right to take you to bed as much as I liked.”  Remus nearly lept from his chair, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt and pulling out the careful creases from his waistband.  Their beaten kettle was looking quite mournful above the gas and he pulled down the list of things they needed to buy.  Further up on the list was curtains, another set of sheets for the bed, and a new suit for Remus.  The sheets would most likely come along in the wedding presents offered at the Hall and he would find a nice tailor somewhere. 

Sirius looked at the list in his hand and said, “We really do need to buy you a nicer suit.  I know you object to using my parent’s money but perhaps it would be a nice humor in this case.”  
“How do you mean, love?”  
“Buying my husband a new suit with the money from the parents who kicked me out for being a homosexual.  Only to have my husband fuck me into a mattress at the end of the evening in that very suit.”

At this, Remus could admit his laughter about the situation.  Not only for the notion of buying a suit for the person the Black family hated most in the world, but the casualness of Sirius’s statement.  He loved the casualness his lover sometimes implored when explaining what their sexual exploits for the week would be.  And with this new invitation from James for dinner, which Remus assumed would be a standing order, Sirius was surely cooking up some new ideas.  There were a few comfortable cupboards at the Potter house from what Remus could remember and he could imagine being back in them once again.

“What are you thinking about, Remus?”  
“Would it surprise you at all if I said I was thinking about sex?”  
“Has that thought coming out of your head ever surprised me?”


	13. A Beast

Remus could think of exactly one time where it was a surprise to Sirius.  They had been sitting in their dormitory in seventh year and Remus had looked over the edge of Sirius’s sketching book to see certain images.  Most of them were rather clean, pictures of the rest of the Marauders scatted, but most of them were portraits of Remus. 

Particularly Remus with Sirius, in different positions of friendship and beyond.

He had crept slowly to the other boy’s bed, Sirius being in an obvious daze from certain intoxicating liquids smuggled in and completely unaware of Remus’s presence on the mattress.  It wasn’t until Remus coughed that Sirius noticed him, jumping to the rafters and nearly screaming.  Once they had settled back to the bed, with Sirius keeping quite a distance between the two of them, Remus started striking up a conversation.

_“Those are some interesting positions that you’ve chosen, Sirius.  I would like to see if we can manage them or not.”_

That was the beginning of his blatant flirting.  The methods that shocked Sirius so much on that day causing a panicking to fit that Remus had to draw him back out of.  Remus had been rather clueless about Sirius’s attraction to him, but he had been aware of Sirius’s ways.  Sirius was the friend among the Marauders who was always looking for a night out with someone, no matter their gender or anything else about them.

_“Sirius, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?  I like the ways that you have chosen to portray me, but you could have just asked to see what would happen?”_

The look in Sirius’s eyes at that moment all the way back then was one that Remus had never seen before.  That slight hint of fear over asking someone out when Sirius’s usually one liner always worked, maybe adding in a bit of hand movements.  Never before had Remus seen Sirius in such a state of panic over someone turning him down, even if they were talking about the slightest possibility of the occurrence.  And Remus certainly would not have turned Sirius down in the way the girls at the taverns might tend to do.  He would have jumped at the chance.

“Remus, I wonder where all of your thoughts have wondered of to now.”  
Being forcefully pulled out the memory, Remus responded with a simple, “Hmm?”  
“I asked you to be cutting the bread and spooning out some of the jams, but you’ve just been standing there with a blank look for a few minutes,” Sirius kissed his jaw at the end of the statement.  “I want to know what was so important to draw your attention away from me and my kitchen orders.”  
“If you must know, my love, I was thinking about our meeting and how much I frightened you.”

Sirius looked down to the floor, with a smirk and an insulated looking grin, laughing as he brought his gaze back to meet Remus’s.  Remus was expecting the argument to begin any minute now.  It would be about how Sirius wasn’t really afraid of Remus’s rejection because he was never afraid of rejection from a date.  And how he would say that he didn’t jump that high, Remus must have been equally clouded in the brain at the time to think a thing like that.

Sirius Black was not afraid of anything.

Especially not romantic advances.

This time went differently, with Remus finding Sirius’s arms around him and saying, “Yes, you did frighten me with that proposal.”  Sirius twisted the ring around his fingers a few times and turned up to Remus to continue, “You’re still surprising me with proposals, evidently, but I didn’t die of complete shock this time.”

The kettle started whistling and Sirius let go to attend to it, gently kissing Remus’s jaw and making a glaring eye movement to the bread that was supposed to be sliced.  Remus took care of it in a few moments, carefully slicing off the spot of fungus that managed to grow in the crust.  He hid this careful surgical procedure from Sirius who would have tossed the entire loaf immediately.  How Remus ended up with an upper-class man who was at times so particular and at other times a literal dog, he couldn’t possibly fathom.  But how also did a barely contained werewolf end up with such a lover that cared about him, rather than someone tagging along for occasional mating or the general hunt.

“Sirius, why did you never ask me out on a date?  I’m sure that you had plenty of confidence when it came to that area and you were always giving other people advice.”  
“I’ve told you my answers plenty of times before and now you’re asking again?” 

Sirius laughed while finishing his question, taking their trays and tea pot into the sitting room, giving a side eye glance to the leather chair.  Remus sunk in once again with a jam covered piece of bread in his hand and answered the question from the kitchen, “I’ve never been quite satisfied with all of the reasons you’ve given me.” 

He stopped to lean across their small table and plant a sharp grip on Sirius’s knee.

“It makes me wonder how embarrassing the true reason must be for you to hide it away so much.”  
“You are the one who assumes that I’m hiding anything and have just as much justification to ask you the real reason, as well,” Sirius leaned into the grip Remus had on him as the statement finished.  
“Whatever could you mean by that, my dear, dear Sirius?”

As quick as a flash, Sirius was gone from his chair and Remus felt familiar naked thighs resting against his still clothed ones.  He hadn’t noticed it in the moments before, but Sirius hadn’t recovered his trousers from the floor, meaning that there would be much more to do tonight.  Remus’s fingers ran up and down the bare legs, leaving scratch marks as he went and Sirius squirming under the pressure.  How the man could get turned on by so little – well, Remus would likely never be able to find an answer to that question.

“I would ask you, Remus, why you didn’t ask me out yourself?  If you were so willingly to return my advances, I do wonder why you never made any of your own.”  
“Sirius, we’ve talked about this.”  
“Yes and we’ve also talked about why I didn’t engage in pleasurable activities with you until you nearly attacked me,” he laid a hand against Remus’s chest and then drew it back in a fake jab.  “I should have expected you to attack me, you know.”  
“Do I know?”  
“Yes.  With all of the things they said about you and the girls and the boys who commented on how you were just an absolute beast.”

Remus laughed at the remark, knowing that the context of being called a ‘beast’ was very different from how Sirius was now using it.  Whenever he had been called a beast in the past, it was a replacement for a freak and an abomination to magical kind.  The words whispered by parents that got passed on to the older children and then sunk all of the way to the bottom.  Remus had no place for those remarks and those memories now – he had won the prize that everyone wanted – Sirius Black’s heart.

“Sirius, I think you and the bullies of my past have very different definitions of the word ‘beast’.”  
“So you don’t think that they were referring to your obvious sexual prowess and control?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short jump back to Sirius.

Sirius carefully watched Remus’s facial expressions and movements while his partner tried to answer the question.  They sat in the wide leather chair, curled together like they always did, thinking in silence.  This was one of the things that was always happening in the Black Lupin or Lupin Black household.  And Sirius treasured every minute that he got to gaze into Remus’s eyes with the excuse of being focused on the conversation.  It had been five years of this since they turned seventeen and set about building an actual relationship beyond having sex in cupboards.

“Perhaps the muggle doctors are correct.”

That wasn’t the answer Sirius had been looking for or expecting, but the premise was enough to intrigue him.

“What about them?”  
“Perhaps masturbation does drive you wild out of your mind and make you forget your memory.”  
Sirius curled closer to Remus, looking up to him to ask, “And what prompted you to so shockingly agree with their feeble thoughts of devil worship for touching oneself?”  
“Because if you’re thinking that I was a sexually endowed beast while we were at Hogwarts, you must be half mad or forgetting the whole ordeal.  Probably both.”

Sirius couldn’t keep from laughing.  He could have tried to suppress the sounds in his throat and left himself in a state of choking on happiness.  This would have most likely alarmed Remus more than his actual act of laughing at the statement.  As he kept the laughter up, Remus kissed him a few times and joined with the low chuckle Sirius loved so dearly.  He knew Remus held so many questions about how Sirius could love the man and Sirius held an equal amount for his partner.  Some of them were doubt for how he found someone who loved him so much. 

But as he listened to Remus slowly turning to cackle beneath him, Sirius wondered how someone could make a laugh of rocks stuck in a gear shaft could sound so enticing.

“You’re right that I’m mad, love, but it’s probably for reasons beyond masturbation.”  
“How do you know it’s not?”  Remus had moved down to his neck, whispering the question in his ear and maintaining the position.  The warm breath was so comforting on his neck.  The breath that now smelled faintly citrus preserves and the cigarette Remus must have sneaked on the stoop when Sirius wasn’t looking.    
“Well it’s all a possibility but I certainly hope I’m not being punished for being a horned-up bastard.  If I had known I would be sent to hell and utter madness for dancing alone, I would have found the right partner earlier in my teenage years.”

The statement was clearly Sirius.

He took pride in the fact that no one else would have thought of such careful wording.  How no one else would have maintained a joking manner, with the serious intent and the overall flooding of love for his partner.  And how no one else would have managed to have the response of a warm werewolf carefully marking his territory.  Sirius didn’t mind this part, the sucking and the bruises left behind because he liked the feeling of being someone’s.

Remus pulled away for a moment and Sirius softly changed his moans to whines.  He expected that his husband would soon be speaking after all of the time Sirius had given him to prepare a proper response.  There was no whisper and there was no kiss to prelude Remus speaking this time, simply fingers curling tighter around Sirius’s waist and the ridiculously soft voice.

“If I had known that sexual relations with you were simply an act of God, I would have employed the missionary position long before to save your soul,” Remus paused and began giggling again.  It took Sirius a few moments to realize the joke in his lover’s words and he soon collapsed back into the arms holding him so tightly.  They stayed together in near silence, occasionally laughing in short fits and then relaxed back to the previous position.  And together they both slowly slipped away to sleep, sparse conversation as their consciousnesses passed on.

“Sirius, love, wake me up in a few hours and I’ll take you to bed.”   
“I’ll stay as long as you want me to, my darling.”  
Remus nuzzled into Sirius’s neck with a final whisper of, “I want you forever.”

The warmth was too much, no matter how much Sirius would have liked to have stayed awake while Remus fell asleep.  His dreams tonight grew happier than before.  Sirius found himself in Remus’s arms multiple times, being twirled around on the dance floor before members of high wizard and muggle society.  In one spot, there stood his mother and his brother looking so grim, so terribly poignant about their intent to kill him.  But every time Sirius got distracted by someone in the crowd, Remus’s fingertips would be under his chin and bringing their lips together.

Sirius woke once to his senses, carefully taking out Remus’s pocket watch to note the time.  It took several minutes to manage to retrieve the battered silver case without waking his sleeping husband.  The time had barely passed six in the evening, leaving plenty of time for them to continue being curled together on the leather chair.  Perhaps at some point they would both wake and move to the bedroom.  Nothing further sexual would happen but as he twisted the ring across his finger, Sirius felt content with this situation. 

With the last ability to keep his eyes open, Sirius whispered, “I love you.”

There was no need for an expected response.  Remus was clearly sunken into his own dreams, fingers still curled tightly around Sirius’s waist and holding on in a motion of “for dear life”.  He hoped so dearly that his partner was not suffering in his dreams as the twitching fingers grew more rampant against his thigh.

At the sudden sound beneath him, Sirius nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a low whisper of, “I love you too.”


	15. Chapter 15

Remus woke up to the sun shining through the window, pocket watch open on his lap and Sirius still curled around him.  His husband’s arms were tight around his neck, holding on while Remus lifted the man up to take him to bed.  If the sun was already visible beyond the window, it meant Remus needed to be on his way to work, no matter how much he wanted to stay here.  Sirius moaned into his neck as Remus set him down on the bed, pulling the sheets and blankets tight around the naked form.

He started crafting the note to leave pinned to the ice box.  Today was going to be a long day away from the apartment.  Remus had cleared the entirety of Tuesday to visit the Rouson family and do assessments to see the children’s progress levels.  From what he had seen the day before, they were fluent in English, knowing some amount of Latin and naturals in their home country’s magic. 

But could the children summon a feather from a nearby kitchen table?  That was a question to be answered by today’s standard assessment Remus had prepared.

“Remus?  Where are you?”

The faint call came from back in the master bedroom and Remus rushed to the sound of his name.  Sirius was barely sitting up in the bed, hair tangled as usual and the notable creases from where his partner’s tender face had rested on his shoulder all night long. 

“I’m here, love.  What do you need?”

The man had slipped back down into the sheets and Remus took the available time to change some of his garments.  From their activities the prior evening, Remus’s trousers were surprisingly okay, but his pants needed to be put into the wash.  Remus took a new shirt from the closet and one of his less formal vests, carefully tucking the ensemble together.  Most mornings he wouldn’t have worn a tie, but it was still a time of making an impression on the Rouson family.  As time went on and if they were satisfied with his personality in addition to his services, then Remus could be more casual. 

He stepped back to look in the mirror and said, “For now, I’ll be dealing with this shit.”  
“And what shit would that be, Remus?  Surely nothing you’re frustrated with about me this early in the morning.”

They exchanged careful glances for a moment, Remus eyeing the obvious sunrise out the window and looking back to Sirius’s confusion.  It took a few minutes more before his husband spoke and said, “I’m sorry.”  
“What are you sorry, my darling?”

Sirius looked away from him again, eyes moving between the ceiling, one of their bedroom windows and the floor.  As the silence continued again, Remus gathered up the few other items that he would be needing for the day.  The last thing he took from the chifforobe was the holster for his wand, deciding that if he was to be out in the more muggle populated areas, there was a need for a better form of concealment.

“Oh shit.”  
Almost mockingly, Remus turned around to ask him, “And what shit would that be, Sirius?”  
“I was supposed to wake you up, wasn’t I?”  Sirius’s head tilted every so slightly to the side as he asked the question, staring up to Remus with rather mournful eyes.  He could have answered his partner but he sat down on the bed, slightly huffing and carefully taking in a kiss with Sirius.  
“I believe that was your duty.”  
Sirius sat up, bent on one elbow and took another kiss before saying, “How can I ever make it up to you, sir?”  
“Since you let me sleep in so much this morning, perhaps you can keep me up all of tonight?  With the cycle coming and all.”

It was like this every month. 

Where they would both briefly forget the careful state that Remus existed in.  He no longer had such transformations as when they were at school, taking the careful experimental potions and treatments offered by their many friends.  But for the three days that a month that Remus Lupin was made to lay incapacitated, it was truly a terrible time.  Half in control of his mind but also losing half to the energy that surged, and the moments when Sirius had tied him to the bed posts.  It wasn’t good to make your partner fear you and that was one of the many regrets that Remus held.

“Remus,” a soft hand grazed his chin.  “It will be alright this month.  That mixture from one of your theorists in Austria worked very well the last time and it’s only three days, love.”  
“Three days where I might hurt you.”  
“I’m tougher than I look, Moony.  You should know that about me by now.”

Remus found his way back into a tender embrace with his husband, carefully kissing along the man’s jaw and enjoying the welcome arms.  He would have to pull himself away soon, leaving for the entire day, not returning until later evening hours.  It hurt every time that he had to go but Remus always had the best thing in the world to come home to.  Other teachers and tutors he interacted with all griped about having to come home to their wives, to their lovers, to their families all alike. 

For Remus, coming home was the best part of his day.

“Oh, I know you’re tough, just like you’re a touch stubborn when you’re wanting to be an ass.”  
“And you always set me about my way,” the slender fingers went to his cuffs, straightening them and pulling them down.  “Now you, Mr. Lupin, better be getting off to work to educate those rich children and bring home the bread money.”  
“What about bringing home the whiskey money?”  
Remus was met by another kiss, followed by the words, “I think I can take care of that.”

Sirius slowly let go of his neck, reclining onto the bed and taking his cigarette case out of the bed side drawer.  The smoke was quickly clouding into their room, prompting Remus to rush to open the windows and hope that it wasn’t too terribly cold outside.  Of course, it would be.  They were in the middle of the winter in London with a non-functional fireplace.  It didn’t help that the window had exactly three positions: stuck tight, halfway locked and completely flung.

“Remus, why did you open the window?  Close it right this instant.”

His partner’s voice rose for a moment to a shrill pitch, reminding Remus very much of Mrs. Black.  Her notable way of sending howlers to Sirius for a patch of drawings on the wall she had finally noticed a few months into term.  A glaring reminder of what she would do to the boy when he got back.

“I wouldn’t have had to open the window if you hadn’t started smoking,” Remus laughed through the end of his statement and bent down to give Sirius a final kiss good bye.  “I’ll see you later on tonight, love.  Don’t get into too much trouble.”  
Sirius’s gentle hand rose up his cheek, pulling him in for another kiss and saying, “I love you.”  
“I love you too, my darling.”


	16. Chapter 16

Remus walked out of the bedroom, turning back once with a wink while he straightened his tie, and then went about the rest of his morning routine.  He didn’t have the chance to pack the examination kit the night before, hoping that everything was still there from the last usage.  And if it somehow happened to be incomplete…

He would improvise. 

He was Remus Lupin after all – the reputation existed for a reason.

The quick trip down the stairs revealed the Rouson coach that had once again been provided to him.  The family hadn’t minded about the time it took him to get to and from as Remus protested against their offer.  Remus stood looking down on it from his point at the front door, tempted to apparate away and directly to their house.  But it was the sullen look from the coach driver boring into Remus’s skull that helped his safe decisions.  There was no way of avoiding the man’s military gaze that was carefully instructing Remus to get his ass in the coach. 

_Or else._

This faint feeling rung out as Remus pulled himself up the stairs, slightly burdened by the weight of his case.  An examination of the contents revealed that he not only had everything he wanted, he also had too many things for the day’s use.  Unless the children happened to miracle workers at wandless magic, there was no way Remus would need the textbook on the bottom of the stack.

“Wands.”

Thinking of wandless magic brought a bigger question to Remus’s mind that he had neglected to ask on the day before.  Did these children even use wands in their magic?

“Shit.”

Remus let the swear word slip out while he had the chance.  Once he was standing inside of the Rouson house, there would be an immediate need to bite his tongue.  When a butler had guided Remus through the hall on the previous morning, the man had forgotten to warn him of the Rousons’ collection of oddities.  Most importantly, the butler had forgotten to mention the fish eating another fish eating a cat that hung at the edge of the foyer.  At this point, the short expletive had slipped from his lips and gained a distasteful look from the house man. 

The image was parading proudly around in his mind, as there came a sharp tap on the window and loud call for, “Mr. Lupin.”

He opened the coach door to find Mr. Rouson standing in a striped suit, cigar in hand and a light sword in the other.  The man took his case from the carriage before Remus had the chance to gather it himself and led the pair up the steps to the house.  Two of the four children sat out on the stoop, playing with small dolls and figures, quickly following their father inside when the beckoning came.   

As they stepped inside, Mr. Rouson slid the sword into a loosely hanging scabbard on the wall and picked up the smaller of the children – Lyla.  He bounced the child on his hip for a few minutes, sighing as she fell asleep on his shoulder and excused himself out of the room.  No doubt going to put the child to rest in one of the rooms Remus had glanced at the day before.  And after a few more minutes of waiting, Mr. Rouson descended the stairs and took a sword from a stand by the stair case.

Remus wanted to remark at how the people in this household – though eccentric – were far nicer than the rest of his clients.  Especially towards their children.  It seemed that this family was unique, and for Remus to make such a statement about a client’s habits were rare.  They possessed more money than the average head of a bank but held no position of power in London.  He had learned on the day previous that while Mr. Rouson was a lawyer with a fine standing record, the man rarely took cases except for social activity causes.  And Mrs. Rouson, in the few layers of petticoats Remus caught poking out from under a soft red skirt, had been a school teacher in their home country.

All quite peculiar, indeed.

“So, Lupin, can I get you anything to drink before you start testing the children?”  
“Hmm?”  Remus suddenly turned about on his heel when realizing he had been asked a question.  Judging by the decanter in the man’s hand that had been traded for the brandished sword, Remus quickly patched an answer together.  “Oh, I never drink on the job.”  
“Just like officers of the law?”  
“Exactly like that.”  
“Well,” the man paused while setting ice carefully into his glass, and then continued, “Hopefully not too much like police officers.  I can’t hold much against them in personal instances, but they don’t hold much regard for foreigners.”

Remus noted the same accent in Mr. Rouson’s voice that had been in his wife’s, but still could not detect the exact origin.  Rouson was right about the state of the city though.  It tended to be unfriendly to anyone it didn’t agree with and that was, these days, nearly everyone.  Even if you were from London, you may be turned away for being from the wrong London.

“And which incident of the police to you hold in mind, Mr. Rouson?  Your wife told me that you often take cases for underprivileged sorts, so I expect that there is some movement in your past to bring such a belief.”

Rouson moved around the room as Remus slowly let out his careful wording.  The man ushered him over to a striped animal hide couch, setting an unwelcome glass of whiskey in front of Remus.  He hadn’t been joking.  He didn’t drink on the job.  Remus would leave the role of drunken teachers to muggles and the humanities professors at Hogwarts.

“Yes, Mr. Lupin, there is a particular case that has encouraged my small acts of philanthropy,” Rouson looked down into his glass as he said it, almost a doubting stare.  Remus carefully studied him across the table, trying to decide if this was a matter to press or simply something to let go.  He wanted answers about this family, but they were his clients, they were entitled to a certain level of privacy.  Even with the monstrosities of a deathly museum hanging in their kitchen.

“I didn’t mean to pry,” Remus paused for a few moments and quickly amended his statement with, “sir.”  
“I’m sure that you’re rather intrigued by the interior design that we’ve chosen for these residences.”

Remus tried to look away, tried to cover his obvious embarrassment from Mr. Rouson.  The man simply slid the whiskey glass a bit closer to Remus’s hand and began talking again.

“Most of these pieces come from our home,” he stopped to gesture in a mild direction and continued, “in the east.  The people of London ask me why I have artifacts from a traveling show in my home.  Do you know what I ask them?”  
“I can imagine something with a few choice words.”  
“Ah, that is a good choice for next time but no.  I ask them why they wouldn’t have fantastical beings hanging along their walls and halls.  Why they stuffy portraits of a family member that they hated, when they could have a portrait of a real war hero.  Perhaps our style is a bit frightening or frustrating to the popular critic, but it is unique.”  
Remus picked up the whiskey glass from the table, swirling around the one ice cube before saying, “I’ve found your family to be rather unique, Mr. Rouson.”

There was no answer from the man on the opposite couch, just a watching gaze that was patiently waiting for Remus to continue.  He slowly picked out the proper words in his brain, remembering that he had just landed this contract and it was going to be eight long weeks of work.  Remus wanted to put a piece of his mind into the conversation, but he certainly didn’t want to put too much.

“I usually work for a very particular type of client, magic, muggle or otherwise.  The parents I work for tend to have less regard for their children than they do for their social status.”  
“I’m sorry that I don’t quite catch your meaning, Mr. Lupin.  Would you mind explaining?”  
“Sir, I work as a tutor for some of the finest, richest and morally lacking participants of London society.  Part of their reasoning for wanting their children to succeed is more about keeping shame away from the family.”  
“Rather than?”  Mr. Rouson trailed off in his statement, the knowing gaze following Remus’s glass back to the table.  
“From your question, I’m sure you already know the answer to that,” Remus paused while waiting for a signal to continue ahead.  “But it is rather than celebrating the success of the child.  They often have some well-groomed job that they are ready to place the child in once he or she makes their way up academic ranks.”

Remus stopped for a few moments more, wishing he still had the crystal glass in his hand.  This would be the time to throw back a shot of the amber liquid and burn his throat out – that would keep him from talking.  Finally, he continued to say, “Their pride rests in their prestige.”  
“And you are under the impression that we are not this way?”  
Remus simply nodded in response to the question, looking mournfully once more at the whiskey glass.  
“Then you would be correct, Mr. Lupin.  We brought one tutor here before being recommended to your services and I will say that he was catering to the crowd you described.  Coaching in only one sort of magic and more concerned with money than anything else.”

There was that phrase again, “recommended to your services”.

And Remus continued to be uncomfortable when hearing it.


	17. Chapter 17

In the initial interrogation of Mrs. Rouson, Remus was unable to yield any answers about who had recommend him.  There were slight answers given with slight allusions to one friend in one club or another.  But she never gave a name and when he had pressed finally on the topic, Mrs. Rouson had announced it was time to meet the children.

“That brings up another question for me, Mr. Rouson.”

Remus had to turn about the room to find him, directing his voice to the area of the bar where the man was quietly standing.  The quiet clink of two pieces of crystal meeting told Remus that it was just a slight refill and Rouson was shortly seated before him again.

“What question would that be?”  
“Who recommended me here?”

The look in Rouson’s eye told Remus enough.  This wasn’t the type of question he was supposed to be asking, even though it should have been quick and simple.  They didn’t want Remus knowing too much of their social connections, but they were diverse enough to know someone who knew Remus.  There were plenty of people in plenty of circles who knew of Lupin, and of his services for one family or another.  But there had been a distinct wording on the part of Mrs. Rouson.  Just distinct enough for the thoughts and deductions to be running through Remus’s mind at a million miles per hour. 

And enough so that he could stand above the seated Mr. Rouson to ask, “Tell me, who was it?”  
“We have a mutual connection through the Baron’s Hall.  They told us of how you educated their children, even with the unusual way their partnership was joined.  And that you could keep your lips tight if you happened to see something that the courts of London deem illegal.”

Rouson leaned back on the couch and took in more of his refilled drinking, carefully watching Remus.  Without the slightest air of defeat, Remus leaned back into the couch he had pulled himself from and carefully thought over his next move.

“And by illegal, I do have to wonder how illegal you mean.  It’s true that I have witnessed many things and kept my lips sealed on the promises made.  But I will not stand by if you intend to have me as a blackmailed witness to a crime such as murder.”  
“Oh, I can assure you, it would be nothing such as that.  I wonder, in return, have you witnessed such an event while in your contract to make you question if a set of parents would do such a thing?”

It was Remus’s turn to lean his head down to the floor, eyes carefully examining the patterns of the rug while thinking about his answer.  There were many things that he never told Sirius.  And he justified the details about his work that he didn’t tell on keeping the couple safe.  Not on the basis of client confidentiality but to keep everyone safe from harm.  Yes, Sirius had experienced the terrible parts of life and surely the Black family was involved in the underworld, but he didn’t need all of this mixed in.

“Wouldn’t this be best a matter to keep secret?”  
“Ah yes, I do see your point in that Mister Lupin.  But let us talk theoretically?”  
“Theoretical recall of my memories should work to keep the peace.”  
“Theoretically,” Rouson moved his hands in a slight gesture.  Remus had started picking up on the movement as a signal for the man looking for the right word, and so he continued in his reclined position.  Soon Rouson continued, saying, “Theoretically, in your line of work and your respective type of client, would you have perhaps witnessed a murder?”  
“I have witnessed more than one murder.”

That wasn’t exactly the answer that Rouson was looking for, but that was all that Remus felt like giving away.  Yes, Remus had witnessed some of the families he worked for do terrible things to terrible people.  And yes, those things had happened across a spectrum of abuse, torture, and murder.  But being as it was and the places that Remus had gone in his life, he had witnessed such acts of homicide out of the line of duty.  Deaths seen from the nursery room of a big house were far easier to accept than any other. 

“You know that does not answer my question, but I like how you stepped around the point.  So, Mister Lupin, would you say that you are familiar with a certain level of danger in your life?”  
“As much as any Londoner does.”  
“Ah but we were told through our mutual association that you special in defense.  Perhaps it is just me, but I question what a man must have seen during his childhood that would lead him to specialize in defense arts in his adulthood.”

Rouson had left his chair once again, walking around the back of the couch to meet the bar.  Remus could hear the careful footsteps and the liquor splashing into the glass, all gentle movements made with little sound.  They were going nowhere in their conversation, but they were just waiting for the children to be ready.  No doubt that Rouson would want to observe the evaluations, make sure that his children were doing the right thing.

When other parents had sat in to the sessions in the past, Remus had always been concerned for the eyes that tried to bore a hole into his back.  As if their presence or not meant that Remus would teach certain things.  The only thing that changed when the parents were not present was how Remus treated the children.  He always kept himself as a friendly but stern teacher, friendlier once overbearing parents had stepped out of the room.

“You could just say that I had a rough upbringing and a rather unique blend of experiences in my youth.”  
“I saw you talking to my wife and the skill with which you met her personal tests.  Would you not be better fit to be an auror or whatever sort of role their ministry brings?”

A refilled glass of whiskey was set down in front of Remus, after its short journey through the air and no audibly coherent spell from Mr. Rouson.  All of the family’s magic seemed to be rather strong and Remus began thinking about the extraneous items in the case.  If the children could make his weights move as easily as their father moved around crystal vessels, they would be progressing rather quickly.

“It will come as no surprise to you that I don’t care much for their politics.”  
“I did my research into you, found small article clippings about your wonder.  Why are you a simple tutor?”  
“I may be a tutor, but I am not a simple one.  If you researched in the places I think you must have gone to find a mention of me in any newspaper, you will know that I am far from simple.”

The line was out of place, but Remus was in no mood to be insulted about his life choices.  He had James and Lily to berate him for his decisions, for not going onwards to serve anyone greater than troubled school children.  And he would not have expected such judgement from a person whose service Remus was currently engaged in.

Their careful silence continued for a great period of time, only interrupted by the occasional glass being taken or set upon the center table.  There was no place to move from here and absolutely no reason to discuss further.  Each man could hold his judgements about the other, but Remus hoped Rouson was aware of the limitations.  There was no polite way for either of them to press further and this was only his second day on the job.  They were sitting here, in the beginning, to wait for the children to be ready for evaluations.  And wait they shall.


	18. Chapter 18

After nearly thirty minutes of a deadening silence, Mrs. Rouson and a nurse came down from the bedroom row, followed by a line of children.  There were four of them to attend to, the Rousons including the youngest in the list, Lyla.  Remus had only seen a glimpse of the children in the day before but knew of the ranking in ages.  The eldest was Reita at thirteen, Boris and Jeane at ten and Lyla at six.  There was an older daughter than Reita, but according to Mrs. Rouson the girl had already attended a formal education school of magic.

Reita was much like her father, black hair slightly slicked down around a sharp face, dressed in striped cloth and wearing half pinned skirt that looked nearly like pants.  The obvious design reminded Remus of the fashion that he often saw featured in the Hall.  Half pinned skirts were worn by a variety of the people who wanted to look a certain way on the street.  And soon he found himself questioning where the girl had gotten the idea.  It made Remus think even more about who the possible associate might be between himself and the Rouson family.

Boris and Jeane were the twins, different in their gender but seemingly identical in appearance.  The hair hanging down from their brows reminded Remus of Sirius’s own unruly bird’s nest.  Clearly someone had tried to tame the situation before the twins came down the stairs.  Their skin was a bit paler than Reita’s, the same lack of sunlight that had been obvious when Mrs. Rouson sat across from him.  They were both dressed in a simple gray skirt, Boris wearing pants beneath and the obvious sign of ruffles beneath Jeane’s.  The shirts followed in a similar manner, simple in design but adorned with a careful pattern of beads, mildly formed in the shape of stars.

And finally, his eyes swept over to the smallest girl, Lyla, wearing a black dress and a bright scarf around her waist.  The child looked unhappy to have been woken from her sleep but held the same faint smile as her brother and sisters.  All of the children sported the same dark hair upon light skin, dark eyes in differing shades, and an unexpected quiet demeanor.  Remus saw Lyla already tugging on her father’s pant leg, seeking the spot on his hip once again and was quickly let up.

The children stood at attention with an occasional sideways glance to their mother.  Remus stood up quickly, wishing he could down the rest of his drink, but keeping to the new need for a good impression.  He quickly fell into the marching line behind Mrs. Rouson, all too aware that Mr. Rouson was bringing up the rear of their small train.  They took a journey through the main living room, past a few small halls and arrived in front of a ball room.  If it weren’t for the obvious use of magic in the design of this house there would have been no way to fit all of these rooms in such a space. 

Remus was once again pulled from a careful exploration by one of Mr. Rouson’s question.

“So, Lupin, will this space do for your practice?  We set up the tables and brought out some of the furniture, as well as a few sets of exercise weights,” Rouson clapped him on the back before continuing with his explanation of the equipment in the room.  “Reita is really quick with her mind when it comes to lifting the weights and I thought she might need a challenge.”  
“Well for today we’re going to start with some of the basic things, making sure that they know the standard spells for this type of magic.”

The question of wands quickly came back to Remus and he questioned the right way to bring it into the conversation.

“Mr. Rouson, I saw you using non-verbal and wandless magic in the living room.”  
“And you want to know if the children use wands?”  
“Yes, that is a question on my mind for this stage of evaluation.  They may already know how to use wandless magic, but it is easier to start through this system with a way to harness their power.”

A quick flash of eyes set upon Remus at the mentions of wands and his implication of ease of use. 

“We do have wands.  They are a touch different from what I’ve seen in the shops here, but they are a beacon of magical ability.  My wife will fetch them from the cabinet and I will have the butler bring your case.”

Mr. Rouson left after this statement, Mrs. Rouson and the nurse quickly following him out.  Remus was left to survey the troops before him, so he started with a simple, “Hello, children.”

They made no movements until the butler delivered Remus’s case, a worn bulk of leather with scattered railway markers and frayed edges.  Its placement upon the table and magical design inside brought the attention of the twins.

“My name is Remus Lupin.  Your parents have hired me as a private tutor for a rugged couple of months to get you caught up for entry into magical schools.”

The children did continue their inspection of the suitcase, Boris carefully removing Remus’s labeled containers.  He made no movement, letting the moment continue and see what item might spark some amount of commentary.  It wasn’t until Boris picked up the jar of red and black dyed paste that Remus got a hint of a gasp and the boy’s questioning eyes turned level to Remus’s.  They exchanged a quick glance and then Boris held up other items for Remus’s approval, arranging them after a quick nod from the teacher.  Remus was rather impressed by the speed and method in the boy’s patterns giving a slight wonder to the family before him.

“Good work, Boris.  What do you all think of the testing materials now that we have them all sorted on the table?”  
The boy looked up, biting his lip slightly before asking, “What is the purpose of the colored jars?  When I picked up the first one, I thought you might have been using some sort of animal blood for casting, but it looks to be some sort of paste.”

Remus was most certainly impressed by the verbal question and also the questioning looks from the rest of the students.  It was only a moment before Reita and Jeane joined in with their own ponderings, and Lyla was tugging slightly on his pant leg with a raised jar in her hand.

Reita stepped forward to ask, “Why are you starting the movements with feathers?  You know that we are all proficient in moving objects by use of spells, and slightly with our minds.”  She paused when looking down to her sister, continuing, “Even Lyla.”

Before he had the chance to answer, Jeane offered her question to the group.

“And what’s the use of the lengths of rope?”

Remus wasn’t used to actually getting questions beyond, “When will this all be over?” and “Why in the living hell are we doing this?” 

The children continued examining the objects on the table, occasionally inquiring to the name, but mainly just looking and touching.  Boris seemed to be most interested in the colored substances within the jars and there came a glint in his eye when Remus explained the purpose. 

Remus’s plan had been for the students to carefully move the jars around the room, sometimes with the lid off and sometimes with the lid on.  This was an exercise meant to teach caution in his students and being precise with the landing of objects.  But Remus could agree with Boris that it might be fun to throw paint filled jars at blank canvases with all the strength of magical energy that they could muster.

Another item of interest, which was one thing that many of his students had found some level of enjoyment in, was the collection of feathers.  Remus liked to have options for the soft arrows directed around the room, taking some amount of pride in how exotic his collection was.  They were sometimes given to him when a client camp was completed.  A housewife sticking her arm out the door in a gingerly way to comment on how much the children loved the feathers.  And then offering up an exotic hat for use in his further experiments and to bring a light of happiness to the other people he might encounter.

Remus let himself relax into all of the thoughts while the children kept about their routes around the table in the middle of the ball room.  He was having a legitimately good time doing this evaluation and took careful notes in the record book.  When he came back on next Tuesday, the lesson plan would be built with all the needs and he would have made the charts for improvement.  And he would probably be offered another glass of whiskey by Mr. Rouson, and this time Remus would accept it without thought.

The time passed by quickly and the hours Remus had allotted were soon over.  The Rouson children helped him pack the bag back up and their eyes widened as the briefcase magically swallowed everything inside the vortex.  Everything except the shattered jars of paint, which Remus had to give the maid a sympathetic look for. 

As he stepped out of the door and settled into the carriage, his thoughts quickly changed in line to the evening before him.

Sirius would be waiting at home.  Not at all patiently.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to stop writing this story for just a bit while working on the end of the school year, but I'm trying to find a schedule for it now. Remus and Sirius have a lot going on in their own lives, and I will most certainly try to share those events once a week, either on a Saturday or a Sunday.

Sirius did try to be patient.

And it lasted for much longer than Remus would probably give him credit for.  There just wasn’t that much to do around the flat.  He had already scrubbed the damn thing top to bottom, even the scuff marks along the base boards.  All questionable items had been removed from the cupboards and the preserved food items had been reorganized.  Sirius had even finished the washing by an hour after Remus was out the door, thankful for magic as the rains set in once again on the city.

The situation was made worse by the lack of projects in his commission stack.  Sirius was almost too good for being a portrait maker.  Photographs gave too much to the people, too solid in their existence as compared to the oil paint upon a canvas.  Once he had finished one piece for the stray family that might find their way to his doorstep, they might pass a recommendation along to another potential client.  But the improved technologies left it with a very short calendar.  As soon as he was done capturing the proper image for one person, the project was complete.

The spirit was there in the film and all he had to do was develop the damn things.

It wasn’t the amount of money.  The money had never mattered to Remus.  It was the time.

To no one in particular Sirius shouted, “Damn me for wanting my mind to be occupied.”

He got the usual lack of response.  There wasn’t even anyone in the building to shout back at him to shut up, no sign of crying from a small child who was annoyed at his own whining.  If Remus were here, his partner probably would have told him off for the remark. 

Or not told off.  Remus wouldn’t tell him off for saying such a thing, but there would be the disappointing glaze in his husband’s eyes.  And maybe they would have once again fallen into the fight about Sirius finding another job.  Or if Sirius wanted to keep his life of being a starving artist, maybe he should do some more work and try to find some more potential clients.  It would be the point when Sirius didn’t mention his family’s offer, and instead accepted Remus’s gentle kisses on his forehead.

It couldn’t be easy for his husband.

After several more minutes of moping about their flat, Sirius came back to looking at Lily’s textbook on the table.  Now that he had reached this point in his life, perhaps he should be thinking about living more peacefully with Remus.  He wouldn’t take it as far as being the docile housewife, both out of his own respect for himself and knowing that wasn’t what Remus wanted.  Remus wanted a husband of equal measure who kept himself out of trouble and was someone to come home to every night.  Safety had never been that much of a concern for Sirius, but it was slowly coming to his mind now.

Remembering that there was no one around, Sirius began reading aloud from Lily’s clean script.

“Chapter One.  Cleanliness is the sanity of a household.”

Sirius couldn’t help from laughing to himself, knowing exactly what Lily might be referring to in her own household.  Between James and the expected baby on the way, the Potters were probably struggling to keep everything tidy.  Sirius had lived with James for several years.  He knew the man was not even adept at sorting his drawer of undergarments and stockings.  And he couldn’t imagine how this must be translating into James’s domestic life.  Sirius pictured a general scene of disarray and a flustered Lily trying to keep all of her notes straight at her writing desk.

“It is no easy task to keep the household clean when both members of the household are engaged in their duties.  James and I both work at the Ministry, though I have been let out to take leave for the upcoming birth of our child.  When we were both working at the same time, our times were outrageous and rarely matched up, allowing for the house to fall into the panic I shudder at the thought of remembering.”

It was true.

Sirius had been there on a Friday evening when James was trying to hunt down his over coat to investigate a magical disturbance.  Lily had recently arrived from her trip across the city to their cottage on the outskirts, her pregnancy not yet visible but James completely worried about what the traveling might do.  As she had tried to relax, Sirius tried to help James sort through a collection of terrible button ups, all marred with blood and wounds.

Those shirts were probably still in James’s collection.

“One of the places often to be neglected is the couple’s wardrobe.  While you may be taking the dust off the floors and the grime off the walls, what is the situation of your clothing?  When was the last time that you bought a new suit?  And more importantly, when was the last time that Remus bought a new suit?  I have an understanding for the financial constrains of your household, but from my position in the Ministry, I have certain favors that might be called in.  A proper trip to the tailor with two new suits for Remus, and a tidying look for yourself, would be appropriate for the new chapter of your life.”

With a small bit of tape, a personal card hung off the page for a tailor that Sirius had never heard of previously.  In fact, he didn’t have the slightest idea how to pronounce the name and he tried to keep his mind from wandering off.  He and Remus had still never determined what it was Lily did at the Ministry, since she had so graciously turned down the position of being an Auror.  It was some sort of role that scared James as well.

“Remember, Sirius Black, I’ve seen the kind of clothes that you wear onto the street when you think that no one is watching.  The marred-up shoes that you wear when wanting to blend in with the rest of the city.  That might be how you feel about yourself and your position in the world, but a man such as yourself should be holding himself different.  You, Mr. Black, have the means to dress nicely, but yet you walk around in purposely ruined clothing.  Do you not recognize what some people would give to have all of the chances you have had at life?”

Lily’s questions went on after this point, growing more hostile and aggressive.  Sirius wanted to find some reasoning for why she might have directed such words towards him, but he recognized that he was deserving of that judgement.  He did have a good life and now he had a good husband.

Sirius lifted up another folded flap of paper with a secondary note from Lily.  It was in her same gentle script, but the ink this time was a fierce red that reflected with the dark color of blood.

“Cleanliness does not only mean the physical state of the flat or clothing.  When I say to keep everything right and clean and perfectly tidy, I am including you in that description as well.”


	20. Chapter 20

Sirius’s weaknesses to certain vices was no secret to the people in his life.

During the time they were at Hogwarts, Sirius was known to frequent establishments that served liquor with a great strength.  He had never let himself fall to opiates.  He had never injected toxins into his blood to find some release.  Sirius could usually find relief in his artwork, but sometimes whiskey helped him find his way.

Remus hated that.

And for Remus, he had made sure to quit.  Sirius had only touched a few drops of alcohol in the time since they began their relationship in London.  When those few moments had happened, there was no need to try and cover up anything from his paining.  Sirius had Remus.  He doubted that he would ever need anything else as long as he had the man of his dreams.  The lack of love from over a decade with his family was easily covered up by a single kiss from Remus.  Of the many things Sirius loved about the man, his tongue was included on the list.

Sirius managed to take his thoughts away from imagining Remus’s tongue and turned back to the information contained within Lily’s book.  The next section read out, “Even though I know that you will have little regard for such protocols, I have included information on the proper way to clean different materials and surfaces.  If you’re really to go about with your joke of wanting to be a housewife (did you think I would forget that night), it would be advantageous to learn about stains.”

It took a moment for Sirius to recall the memory, but the image of Lily’s laughter quickly rushed back.

There had been a time, just a few months previously, when Lily brought up the idea of marriage with Sirius.  She had asked him to be careful with how his life with Remus progressed and warned of the certain dangers of London.  Once they had gotten beyond the point of being serious and worrying back and forth about each other, Lily had brought up the issue of stains.  In her winking and gesturing way, Lily commented on Remus and Sirius’s bedroom activities and asked how the couple were dealing with the sheets.  When he had admitted to the embarrassment they had to share with an outside cleaner, Lily had immediately taken him into the washroom and began “domestic” lessons.

Sirius skimmed over the next few sections, looking at mentions of lemon juice and vinegar until he reached another section of monologue.

“It’s okay for you to skip over the rest of this chapter, but at least keep the list of solutions in mind.”

Lily was right.

Sirius had little desire to read over her guides to cleaning, but it would be a long while until Remus was home.  With any luck, Sirius would pass out in the middle of all of these papers and be awoken to his husband kissing his forehead.  That was always a lovely way to wake up.

As he went on, a few phrases in Lily’s wording popped out to him.

“When dealing with clear stains on the bedsheets, see the attached guide of magical spells.”

“If blood happens to spill on the hardwood, make sure not to scrub too hard.”

“Scuffs and claw marks can easily be dealt with.”

“I know of the certain damages that might be made while nature calls upon you and your partner.”

She always managed to be so poetic and gentle when talking about “mature” matters. 

Sirius delved further into the explanations of mortal cleaning solutions, magical cleaning potions, and appropriate spells to help along the way.  Instead of slipping off to sleep, he simply grew more distracted.  So, distracted that he didn’t notice the click of the lock or the dragging of the door.  And even so distracted that he didn’t notice Remus until the kiss was placed beneath his ear, and there was a hot breath traveling across his neck.

In his perfectly sweet way that Sirius adored, Remus simply said, “Hello darling.”

He stayed silent as the kisses traveled down his neck, feigning an interest in the reading material before him.   Sirius was battling with the want to fold into Remus’s arms and stave off an embrace.  If he were to sink into bed with Remus now, they would be restless throughout the night and he would never get back to the task at hand.  But as his husband’s fingertips dipped below the button of his pants, Sirius knew that there was no way he’d be able to focus any longer.

He looked up to Remus and asked, “Is there anything that you wanted, darling?”  
“I want you.”

Remus’s lips continued to travel down his spine as Sirius felt his dressing gown being pulled away.  Of course his husband would know that he rarely wore more than pants during the day.  There was little need for anything else when occupying the space of their flat, and when Remus came home from work, he always seemed to enjoy the ease.

“Do you need any help getting the inside tie off, Remus?  Since your other hand is otherwise occupied.”  
The teeth nipped again at his ear as the gruff voice said, “If you wouldn’t mind, dear.”

Sirius carefully pulled out the knot, laughing to himself when thinking of the word in relation to what they would be doing next.  The lips were hot onto the bare skin of his chest the instant it became visible.  He tossed the robe onto the coffee table and reached up to grab Remus’s neck, wrapping his legs around his partner’s waist in the process. 

They were very carefully joined together, the kisses continuing at a maddening pace and both partners growing obviously aroused.

Remus leaned down to ask, “Shall we go to bed my love?”

Sirius whispered a simple “yes” into the presented ear and floated in the arms gently carrying him into their room.


	21. The End of Their Beginning

Remus woke up intertwined with Sirius, still very clothed and his vest barely unbuttoned.  He slowly turned over onto his back, pushing the sheets down to the foot of the bed.  Sirius squirmed against his chest and groaned as Remus moved further away.  It would have been nice to stay in bed for a few more hours, but he really needed to be excused to the facilities.

“Sirius, love, I need to get up now.”

The hands around his waist finally released and Remus made his way to the water closet.  When he went to wash his hands, he spent several minutes staring into the mirror before him.  Remus started thinking about the previous day of education and how he would soon have to leave his dear Sirius again. 

They hadn’t done anything the night before.

It had started out active enough once Remus arrived home, but as soon as they hit the mattress together, an agreement was made for cuddling.  They had fallen asleep so quickly that Remus had never even made it out of his clothes, though Sirius was always quite naked beneath his house robes.

A shout came from the bedroom followed by, “Remus!”

Remus rushed back to the bedroom, his tie hanging loose around his neck and the droplets of water dripping down his cheeks.  He slipped down to rest on the edge of the bed, brushing Sirius’s long locks back and asked, “What do you need, my love?”

Sirius kissed his hand gently and then sunk his teeth into Remus’s wrist.  He had not expected that, but he didn’t pull back or flinch.  Sirius’s teeth couldn’t puncture the skin while his lover was in this form, but it would leave a mark all of the same.  Remus traced the quickly forming bruise with his index finger while waiting for a response from his husband. 

Another hand soon crossed over his own and Sirius was drawing him down for a kiss.  Remus couldn’t resist being dragged into bed.  The movement happened so quickly and quietly, with the only answer to his question being Sirius’s lips against his own.  They tumbled about for a few moments and ended with Remus leaning over his lover.  Sirius kept reaching up, drawing him down each time, and then releasing Remus to bite his neck.

During one of these points, Sirius whispered into Remus’s ear, “All I want is you, my love.”

Remus kept his position over Sirius, sinking down further to grind their hips together.  Both partners started moaning at this point with Sirius tightening his grip around Remus’s waist.  The fingernails digging into his hips only encouraged Remus to press more into his lover.  The simple moaning quickly turned to a mixture of panting and begging, and they brought themselves closer together on the bed.  Remus kept some distance above Sirius as he controlled their movements and their heated reactions continued. 

From beneath him, Sirius whimpered and cried out, “Ahh!”

Within a few moments of the exclamation, his partner had ejaculated onto their stomachs and Remus followed in suit.  He let the control in his arms go and flopped on top of the waiting Sirius.  This is what they had meant to be having been doing the night before but had found themselves both too tired to complete.  They probably would have gone farther if the energy had been there, but Remus was sure that the both of them were equally sleepy.  This release would help, and they could continue later on if the need came about.

Remus brushed his fingers through Sirius’s hair once again, kissing along his husband’s neck and trying to catch his breath.  There were several thoughts and questions on his mind, but Remus couldn’t yet find the strength to ask them.  He was settling with being snuggled to Sirius, even with the slick mess between them that was quickly drying.  They would have to move soon to avoid the discomfort.

Luckily, they would be able to lay together in the bed.

“Remus?  Is everything alright, darling?”

Remus was quickly pulled back from his day dreaming by Sirius’s tender kisses against his skin.  It seemed that all too often his mind was wandering and with what had taken place recently, there should have been even more reason for Remus to stay on Earth.  He tried to ground himself with his love for Sirius, but there was so much to draw his attention away.  Remus had to keep them both safe.  And he had to do that despite being such a dangerous person himself.  This was beyond the dangerous city that they resided in, the dangerous times that were occurring, and the unorthodox lifestyle that they lived. 

All of this brought worry to his mind.

And Sirius was slowly noticing.

“I’m perfectly fine, my love.  I’m just coming back down from all of the pleasure that you have given me.”

He quietly told himself that it wasn’t actually a lie.  The orgasm itself had taken a fair amount of Remus’s concentration away. 

The room was slowly coming back into focus and Remus was admiring the beauty laying in bed beside him.  Sirius’s hair was rumpled on the bed, the droplets of sweat on his forehead making it cling to his skin and to their sheets.  Remus could never deny his need to be running his fingers through Sirius’s hair and took full advantage of the opportunity before him.

“Mmm Remus.  If you tease me like that, we’re going to have to go for a second round.  And I’d really rather spend our second round in the bathtub.”

Sirius moved himself further onto Remus’s chest, and Remus felt his lover’s fingertips running through his chest hair.  Remus kept his fingers in Sirius’s locks as they slowly began to move out of bed together, edging towards the bathroom before them. 

From a room away, Remus began preparing the bathwater, knowing that the moment they sunk into the water, they wouldn’t want to get out.  He gently kissed Sirius as he drug the two of them into the bathroom and once again thanked god for giving them such a happy ending.


End file.
